A larger share of second homes than 96% of compared French towns: 35%
6.4% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). At 7.6%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 287 residents and 140 households in Chenereilles. The census found that 1.5% of households rent social housing (HLM) here.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Loire 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 Chenereilles
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 90 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chenereilles, 35% of its 260 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 97% 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
Chenereilles had 315 residents at the 2012 census and 287 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Chenereilles’ residents are under 51.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 23% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of empty homes than 84% of compared French towns, at 11%
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 28% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 4.5% (under two years). On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. At 7.5%, the share of households without a car is lower than in 69% of compared French towns.
A change of −9% since 2012 leaves Chenereilles behind 96% 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 median Haute-Loire town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +3% and the next six −12%.
A median age of 51.5: Chenereilles is older than 88% 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
■ Chenereilles 51.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The census found that 23% of residents are 65 or over in Chenereilles.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Only 7.3% of households are single parents in Chenereilles
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 Haute-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, just over a fifth of households are couples with children in Chenereilles. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. One-person households account for 35%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €23,680 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 median standard of living in Chenereilles is €23,680 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 75% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 94% of compared French towns: 3.8%
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 retired person: 38% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. For households headed by a manager or professional, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 9.4%. In Chenereilles, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.1% of residents are immigrants, below 99% 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.
With foreign nationals at 0.7%, Chenereilles is behind 98% of compared French towns on that count. Across the comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Haute-Loire has 3.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% 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.
48% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 84% 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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 24% of residents 15 and over are single in Chenereilles. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 79% of compared French towns: 22%
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
17% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 287 to 2,582 people, the 10th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Of the 6 towns nearest Chenereilles, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chenereilles | 51.5 | 23% | 35% | 1.1% |
| Tence 3,111 · 2.9 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 19% | 1.9% |
| Yssingeaux 7,415 · 5.7 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 9.2% | 3.2% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 6.2 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
| Dunières 2,670 · 7.4 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 6.5% | 4.1% |
| Sainte-Sigolène 6,097 · 7.6 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 4% | 7% |
| Saint-Maurice-de-Lignon 2,688 · 8 mi | 41.2 | 19% | 7.1% | 1.9% |
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 Chenereilles
What is the population of Chenereilles?
287 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (315).
How old are Chenereilles’ residents?
The median age is 51.5, older than 88% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chenereilles?
90, with occasional dwellings: 35% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chenereilles?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.1% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chenereilles?
€23,680 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 9, 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.