Younger than 94% of compared French towns: half of La Chaux is under 36.3
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in La Chaux comes in at 2%. 0.4% of households rent social housing (HLM), a lower share than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 614, in 250 households. For La Chaux, the census puts households without a car at 2.8%.
Throughout this page, the Doubs 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 La Chaux
Growing fast
La Chaux had 435 residents at the 2012 census and 614 in 2023, up 41%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
36% of households are couples with children and 6% single parents with children; 25% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of La Chaux’s residents are under 36.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 25% are under 15 and 17% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+41% since 2012, a pace 99% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
The median Doubs town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +28% and the next six +10%.
17% of residents are 65 or over, below 83% 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
■ La Chaux 36.3. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 85% of compared French towns: 8.8%. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 36%, a higher share than 94% 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 Doubs median and the France median
Living alone · share
6% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). Couples with children make up 25% in the typical compared French town. One-person households account for 30%.
A town of second homes: 8.4% of its homes
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
Where 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, La Chaux has 8.1%. In La Chaux, 23% of homes are flats. Typically, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €31,310 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €31,310 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 89% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 99% of compared French towns: 28%
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
34% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 86% of compared French towns: 2.6%
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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; La Chaux has 2%. Against that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Doubs has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In La Chaux, 19% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 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
Here nearly half of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
14% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 81% 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 30% in the typical compared French town, 27% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. By way of comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 614 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
La Chaux is the youngest (36.3); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Of the 6 towns nearest La Chaux, 5 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Chaux | 36.3 | 17% | 8.4% | 2.6% |
| Doubs 3,335 · 7.5 mi | 42.6 | 22% | 2.3% | 9.3% |
| Pontarlier 18,067 · 8.4 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 3.5% | 15% |
| Morteau 6,953 · 8.8 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 3.6% | 15% |
| Valdahon 5,705 · 9.7 mi | 35.2 | 18% | 1.6% | 5.6% |
| Les Fins 3,048 · 10.2 mi | 42.2 | 18% | 2.6% | 9.6% |
| Villers-le-Lac 5,292 · 12.3 mi | 37.3 | 15% | 6.2% | 16% |
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 La Chaux
What is the population of La Chaux?
614 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 41% more than in 2012 (435).
How old are La Chaux’s residents?
The median age is 36.3, younger than 94% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Chaux?
25, with occasional dwellings: 8.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Chaux?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Chaux?
€31,310 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 4, 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.