Older than 94% of compared French towns: half of Chélan is over 54.8
By its share of flats (0.9%), Chélan is below 99% of compared French towns. This Gers town is home to 172 residents in 83 households, by the 2023 Census. Here, 2.4% of households have no car. Few places have so few households headed by a manual worker: 6.3% here, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Gers 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 Chélan
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 15 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chélan, 14% of its 110 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 93% 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 Chélan’s residents are under 54.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chélan had 188 residents at the 2012 census and 172 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 0 immigrants in Chélan (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 15% of residents, against 7.9% for the median compared commune in Gers. 10% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 90% of compared French towns: 14%
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. For Chélan, the census puts empty homes at 8.4%.
Chélan changed by −9% from 2012 to 2023, behind 95% 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 Gers town ±0%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −7%; 2017 to 2023, −2%.
Chélan ranks above 93% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 35%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chélan 54.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.5%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Gers 52.4%, France 51.8%.
19% of households are couples with children, below 79% 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 Gers median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households: 12%, above 83% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 25% of households are couples with children. 31% of households are one person living alone, or about one in three.
A median of €21,220 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 €21,220 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 93% of compared French towns.
37% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 76% of compared French towns don’t reach
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, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 85% of compared French towns, at 15%
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.
The share of foreign nationals is 10%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Chélan: 54% of residents 15 and over are married, above 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
Single residents: 18%, below 99% of compared French towns. For comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
26% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 79% 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
Graduates of higher education make up about one in three here (30%). The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 172 to 2,582
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.
No nearby town is as old as Chélan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chélan | 54.8 | 35% | 14% | 15% |
| Mirande 3,457 · 13.5 mi | 53.2 | 34% | 3.8% | 7.9% |
| Lannemezan 5,811 · 17.6 mi | 51.8 | 30% | 3.2% | 10% |
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 Chélan
What is the population of Chélan?
172 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (188).
How old are Chélan’s residents?
The median age is 54.8, older than 94% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chélan?
15, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chélan?
INSEE counts 26 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 15% of residents, and 18 foreign nationals (10%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chélan?
€21,220 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 October 30, 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.