More second homes than 99% of compared French towns: 89%
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 2.7% in Châtel. In 2023, the Census found 1,174 residents here, living in 570 households. Empty homes make up about one in 91 here (1.1%). Flats are more common here than in 97% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Savoie 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 Châtel
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 4,840 second homes and occasional dwellings in Châtel, 89% of its 5,460 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 11% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Châtel sits below 99% of compared French towns for households in social housing (0.9%)
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
9.3% of households arrived within the last two years, while 21% have stayed 30 years or more. Set beside that, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Households without a car are rarer here than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
Châtel’s population moved ±0% on 2012, less than in 72% 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
In two steps, +6% to 2017 and −6% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +14% in Haute-Savoie.
Only 14% of residents are 65 or over in Châtel
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châtel 41.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.7% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. The median age in Châtel is 41.3, lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Savoie 51.0%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 70% of compared French towns: 21%
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-Savoie median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2.1 people on average. At 12%, the share of single-parent households is higher than in 72% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town. The share of one-person households tops 62% of compared French towns: 38%.
Median standard of living: €32,340 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 €32,340 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 92% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a retired person than 99% of compared French towns, at 14%
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 manual worker: 21%, above 85% of compared French towns. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 69% of compared French towns: 6.8% of residents are foreign nationals
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 57% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Haute-Savoie has 13%. In the typical compared French town, foreign nationals come to 4.3%. 7.5% 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.
38% of residents 15 and over are married, below 81% 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
Across Châtel, 26% of residents 15 and over are single. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Adults with no qualification make up 15% in Châtel, less than in 75% 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
For Châtel, the census puts graduates of higher education at 29%. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
41 French towns of 1,174 to 2,582 people: this is the 6th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as young as Châtel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtel | 41.3 | 14% | 89% | 7.5% |
| Morzine 2,658 · 8.4 mi | 46.6 | 25% | 86% | 11% |
| Saint-Paul-en-Chablais 2,613 · 12 mi | 42 | 17% | 16% | 4.8% |
| Lugrin 2,614 · 12.3 mi | 41.6 | 18% | 25% | 12% |
| Neuvecelle 3,256 · 14 mi | 42.8 | 19% | 19% | 11% |
| Évian-les-Bains 9,267 · 14.9 mi | 41.6 | 22% | 28% | 14% |
| Taninges 3,491 · 15.8 mi | 45.3 | 21% | 51% | 7.4% |
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 Châtel
What is the population of Châtel?
1,174 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (1,179).
How old are Châtel’s residents?
The median age is 41.3, younger than 70% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châtel?
4,840, with occasional dwellings: 89% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châtel?
INSEE counts 88 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.5% of residents, and 80 foreign nationals (6.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châtel?
€32,340 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.