Half of Chalais is over 59.1, older than 98% of compared French towns
In Chalais, 2.5% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. On households in social housing, Chalais sits lower than 99% of compared French towns: 1%. The town had 405 residents in 200 households at the 2023 census. 2.2% of homes are flats.
Throughout this page, the Dordogne 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 Chalais
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 39 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chalais, 14% of its 280 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 95% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Chalais’ residents are under 59.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 34 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
14% of homes are second homes, a share 90% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 6.4% of households have no car in Chalais. The census found that 12% of homes stand empty here. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%.
Slower than most: +3% since 2012, behind 57% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Dordogne town −1%.
37% of residents are 65 or over, a share 96% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chalais 59.1. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (6.7%), Chalais is below 98% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Dordogne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Below 83% of compared French towns: 17% of households are couples with children
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 Dordogne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2 people. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. One-person households: 35%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town.
Median living standard: €23,180 a year
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.
Living standards centre on €23,180 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 80% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 2.5%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
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
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Chalais has 13%. Across Chalais, 52% of households are headed by a retired person. Measured more widely, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
11% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 85% 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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 75% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Dordogne has 5.4%. In the typical compared French town, foreign nationals come to 4.3%. Where 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, Chalais has 11%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
19% of residents 15 and over are single, below 96% 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
Roughly four in ten: 42% of residents 15 and over are married. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Chalais ranks below 81% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 21%
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
With adults with no qualification at 26%, Chalais is ahead of 81% of compared French towns on that count. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (405 to 2,582 people), the 4th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Chalais is older 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalais | 59.1 | 37% | 14% | 11% |
| Thiviers 2,876 · 6.1 mi | 54.3 | 35% | 9.2% | 7.3% |
| Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche 6,830 · 12.8 mi | 57 | 36% | 4.8% | 5.5% |
| Nontron 3,057 · 13.5 mi | 54.9 | 35% | 10% | 6.8% |
| Nexon 2,548 · 16.8 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 5.8% | 3.2% |
| Brantôme en Périgord 3,763 · 17.4 mi | 53.9 | 33% | 16% | 5.2% |
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 Chalais
What is the population of Chalais?
405 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (393).
How old are Chalais’ residents?
The median age is 59.1, older than 98% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chalais?
39, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chalais?
INSEE counts 45 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 45 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chalais?
€23,180 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.