A median age of 58.5: Chambon is older than 97% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%; Chambon has 10%. 260 residents in 140 households: that is Chambon at the 2023 Census. Census figures put households in social housing at 0.7% in the town. Lower than in 96% of compared French towns: 4.6% of homes are flats.
Throughout this page, the Gard 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 Chambon
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 130 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chambon, 44% of its 310 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 99% 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 Chambon’s residents are under 58.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 36% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chambon had 297 residents at the 2012 census and 260 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 44% in Chambon, more than in 97% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 18% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 7.8% (under two years). More empty homes than in 81% of compared French towns: 10%. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%; Chambon has 6.5%.
−12% since 2012: slower than 98% 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
The first five years brought −10%; the six to 2023, −2%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Gard town +7%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 5.2%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chambon 58.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 95% of compared French towns: 36%. Measured more widely, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gard 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Chambon ranks below 99% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 3.6%
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 Gard median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 1.8 people each. Chambon has more one-person households than 69% of compared French towns, at 40%. The comparison figure for single-parent households is 10% in the typical compared French town.
€24,860 a year is the median standard of living here
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 median standard of living in Chambon is €24,860 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 62% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 81% of compared French towns, at 39%
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
14% of households are headed by a manager or professional (typical compared French town: 9.4%). Households headed by a retired person make up 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 4.2% in Chambon, less than in 71% 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.
Foreign nationals make up about one in 26 here (3.8%). To put it in context, 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.
Below 97% of compared French towns: 19% of residents 15 and over are single
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
Married residents: 45% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification make up 13% in Chambon, less than in 86% 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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Chambon comes in at 36%. To put it in context, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 4th oldest of 41 French towns of 260 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
2 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Chambon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chambon | 58.5 | 36% | 44% | 4.2% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 4.3 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| La Grand-Combe 4,783 · 6.1 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1% | 11% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 9.1 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 9.6 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 9.8 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Saint-Martin-de-Valgalgues 4,840 · 10.3 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 0.9% | 9.3% |
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 Chambon
What is the population of Chambon?
260 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (297).
How old are Chambon’s residents?
The median age is 58.5, older than 97% of compared French towns. 9.7% are under 18 and 36% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chambon?
130, with occasional dwellings: 44% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chambon?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.2% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (3.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chambon?
€24,860 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.