92% of homes are second homes, more than in 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes is 6.7%; Chamrousse has 0.1%. Households headed by a retired person account for 17%. Compared with other places, flats are common here: 90%, more than in 98% of compared French towns. 453 residents in 230 households: that is Chamrousse at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Isère 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 Chamrousse
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 2,790 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chamrousse, 92% of its 3,020 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 8.4% 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.
In Chamrousse, 23% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 83% 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
One household in 11 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 13% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 6.2%. On households without a car, Chamrousse sits lower than 56% of compared French towns: 9.5%. Elsewhere, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
Slower than most: −3% since 2012, behind 81% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +7% in Isère.
Chamrousse sits below 90% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (15%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chamrousse 41.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24 here. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Half of Chamrousse’s residents are under 41.1, younger than in 72% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Chamrousse ranks above 86% of compared French towns on one-person households: 46%
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 Isère median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2 people on average. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 22%, fewer than in 63% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Here nearly one in ten households are single parents, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 10%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €25,060 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 Chamrousse is €25,060 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 59% of compared French towns.
Below 93% of compared French towns: 4% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
Here 23% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 2.3%, a lower share than 88% 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.
1.3% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). As a reference point, 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.
Chamrousse ranks below 97% of compared French towns on married residents: 31%
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: 38%, above 96% of compared French towns. Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
12% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 88% 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, nearly two in five adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. To put it in context, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th youngest of 41 French towns of 453 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Chamrousse sits below 5 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamrousse | 41.1 | 15% | 92% | 2.3% |
| Vaulnaveys-le-Haut 4,006 · 2.7 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Saint-Martin-d'Uriage 5,587 · 3 mi | 46.7 | 23% | 6.3% | 5.5% |
| Vizille 7,292 · 5.8 mi | 44 | 23% | 2.4% | 8% |
| Jarrie 3,952 · 6.2 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 1.3% | 4% |
| Gières 7,376 · 6.3 mi | 36 | 16% | 3.9% | 11% |
| Domène 6,835 · 6.3 mi | 42.8 | 22% | 1.3% | 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 Chamrousse
What is the population of Chamrousse?
453 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (467).
How old are Chamrousse’s residents?
The median age is 41.1, younger than 72% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chamrousse?
2,790, with occasional dwellings: 92% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chamrousse?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chamrousse?
€25,060 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.