A smaller share of flats than 99% of compared French towns: 1.2%
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 5.4% of residents are 15 to 24 in Chambonchard. The town’s 39 households held 83 residents at the 2023 Census. About one in 43: that is how common households without a car are in Chambonchard (2.3%). One-person households are rarer here than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Creuse median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
What stands out about the people of Chambonchard
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 22 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chambonchard, 28% of its 78 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 17 homes empty (22%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes make up 22% in Chambonchard, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Every home the census counted: main residences, second homes and occasional dwellings (INSEE counts them together), and empty homes. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
All homes · share of homes
Type of home
Cars per household · share of households
By its share of second homes (28%), Chambonchard is above 95% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Slower growth than 83% of compared French towns: Chambonchard changed by −3% since 2012
Residents at INSEE’s last three censuses, each recast in the 2026 commune boundaries. France has no yearly estimate by commune between censuses.
2012 to 2023
2017 to 2023
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Creuse town −5%.
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 81% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chambonchard 43. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 43, Chambonchard is younger than 58% of compared French towns. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Creuse 52.8%, France 51.8%.
Fewer couples with children than 64% of compared French towns: 22%
A household is everyone who shares a main home (résidence principale). Household types come from INSEE’s fuller sample of a quarter of census forms.
Against the Creuse median and the France median
Living alone · share
One in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town, against 11% in Chambonchard. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. There are 2.1 people in the average household.
Above 55% of compared French towns: 33% of households are headed by a retired person
Households by the socio-professional group (PCS) of their reference person, INSEE’s own categories. Jobs and commuting are on the Work & commute page.
Households by reference person’s group · share of households
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Chambonchard: 9.8% of residents are foreign nationals, above 81% of compared French towns
INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.
Share of residents · census 2023
Immigrant (immigré)
Born abroad, not French at birth. Someone stays an immigrant after becoming French. A French citizen born abroad (for example in Algeria before 1962) is not one.
Foreign national (étranger)
Not a French citizen today, wherever born. A child born in France to foreign parents can be a foreign national without being an immigrant.
Against a figure of 6.5% in the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants in Chambonchard comes in at 9.8%. The median compared commune in Creuse has 7.6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 70% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
12% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Residents 15 and over by how they live: the census asks both the legal status and whether people live as a couple.
Residents 15 and over · share
With married residents at 46%, Chambonchard is ahead of 72% of compared French towns on that count. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 96% of compared French towns: 9.9%
Highest diploma of residents 15 and over who have left education, in French terms: the levels don’t map one-to-one to UK or U.S. ones.
Highest diploma · 15 and over, out of education
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Chambonchard has 27%. For comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 83 to 2,582 people: this is the 12th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Chambonchard is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chambonchard | 43 | 28% | 28% | 9.8% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 11 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 2.3% | 5.9% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 12.4 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 12.8 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 13.5 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 13.8 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 14.1 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Census 2023. INSEE’s census is a rolling survey: a fifth of small communes each year, 8% of homes in large ones each year. “2023” pools the surveys of 2021 to 2025, so the figures describe the town around 2023, not on one day.
- Medians of compared communes. The comparisons are the median of the département’s compared communes and of France’s (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median: not the total for the département or for France, which large cities pull towards their own figures.
- Immigrants and foreign nationals. INSEE’s two measures: an immigrant was born abroad without French nationality; a foreign national isn’t French today. Neither is a count of people born abroad, which INSEE doesn’t publish by commune.
- Second homes. Homes used for holidays or weekends, with occasional dwellings (kept for work, for example), which INSEE counts together. Their owners are counted where they live, not here.
- Standard of living. INSEE’s Filosofi: disposable income per consumption unit, from tax and benefit files, 2023. The poverty rate is the share of residents below 60% of France’s median. Not published for the smallest communes.
- What France doesn’t ask. The French census asks nothing about ethnicity, religion, language or health, so this page has no such section.
Questions about who lives in Chambonchard
What is the population of Chambonchard?
83 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (86).
How old are Chambonchard’s residents?
The median age is 43, younger than 58% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chambonchard?
22, with occasional dwellings: 28% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chambonchard?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.8% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (9.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, ages, households, homes, marital status, diplomas, immigrants, foreign nationals, employment), 2026 geography · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (standard of living, poverty) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 8, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.