Fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns: 0.4%
3.3% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Census day 2023: 461 residents and 210 households in Chenay. Locally, 29% of households are headed by a manual worker. Few places have so few couples with children: 19% here, fewer than in 78% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Deux-Sèvres 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 Chenay
One home in 10 is a second home
The census counted 29 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chenay, 10% of its 280 homes: higher than in 88% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chenay had 499 residents at the 2012 census and 461 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 40 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
2.4% of households rent social housing (HLM), below 96% 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for 6.2% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 30%. For comparison, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. At 14%, the share of empty homes is higher than in 94% of compared French towns. The share of second homes tops 88% of compared French towns: 10%.
Slower than most: −8% since 2012, behind 94% of compared French towns
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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −9%, then +2% to 2023. Over those years, the median Deux-Sèvres town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 97% of compared French towns: 7.2%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chenay 46.4. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 46.4, Chenay is older than nearly two thirds of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. In Chenay, 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 14% in Chenay, more than in 93% of compared French towns
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 Deux-Sèvres median and the France median
Living alone · share
With one-person households at 31%, Chenay is behind 72% of compared French towns on that count. The wider picture: 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Households average 2.2 people.
The median resident lives on €21,580 a year per consumption unit
The standard of living (niveau de vie) is a household’s disposable income after taxes and benefits, divided by its consumption units (UC) to allow for its size and make-up: 1 for the first adult, 0.5 for each other person 14 or older, 0.3 for each child under 14.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
Half of residents live in households above €21,580 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 91% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a retired person than 80% of compared French towns, at 26%
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. As a reference point, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Chenay, 2.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 86% 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.
2.4% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
49% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 86% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Single residents: 21%, below 84% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 78% of compared French towns
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
Compared with other places, adults with no qualification are scarce here: 19%, fewer than in 50% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
41 French towns of 461 to 2,582 people: this is the 18th oldest
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.
Chenay sits below 4 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chenay | 46.4 | 23% | 10% | 2.6% |
| Rouillé 2,533 · 6.7 mi | 42.6 | 22% | 2.9% | 2% |
| Melle 5,752 · 9.6 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 4.3% | 3.7% |
| Lusignan 2,544 · 10 mi | 51.7 | 32% | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| Valence-en-Poitou 4,325 · 10.7 mi | 47.2 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| Saint-Maixent-l'École 7,595 · 10.7 mi | 35.5 | 21% | 2.7% | 7.6% |
| Celles-sur-Belle 3,829 · 11.3 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 2.5% | 2.6% |
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 Chenay
What is the population of Chenay?
461 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (499).
How old are Chenay’s residents?
The median age is 46.4, older than 66% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chenay?
29, with occasional dwellings: 10% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chenay?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (2.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chenay?
€21,580 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). Source: INSEE, Filosofi.
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.