Couples with children make up 38% in Chirens, more than in 97% of compared French towns
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manual worker here. In 2023, the Census found 2,546 residents in Chirens, living in 1,000 households. The share of households without a car stands at 2.9%. Flats are rarer here than in 87% of compared French towns.
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 Chirens
A town of families
38% of households are couples with children and 6.1% single parents with children; 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +9% change since 2012: faster than 66% 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 same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Isère town +7%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was ±0%; from 2017 to 2023, +9%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 77% of compared French towns, at 9.2%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chirens 42.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Chirens’s residents are under 42.6, younger than in just over three fifths of compared French towns. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. The census found that 20% of residents are 65 or over locally.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 96% of compared French towns: 24%
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
In the typical compared French town, 10% of households are single parents; in Chirens, 6.1%. As a yardstick, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. There are 2.5 people in the average household.
Households in social housing: 3.6%, a lower share than 92% 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 24% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 10% (under two years). At 2.9%, the share of second homes is higher than in 60% of compared French towns. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. 6.9% of homes stand empty, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €29,660 a year in standard of living
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.
At €29,660 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 83% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 6.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 12% in Chirens, more than in 63% of compared French towns
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
32% of households are headed by a retired person, or about one in three. On average, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.8% of residents are foreign nationals, below 68% 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.
The median compared commune in Isère has 8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 56% of compared French towns. 5.8% of residents are immigrants. Foreign nationals make up 4.3% 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.
Married residents make up 52% in Chirens, more than in 97% 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
The figure for single residents is 19% in Chirens and 25% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 12% of adults out of school have no qualification in Chirens
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, 39% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. To put it in context, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 10th youngest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Chirens and its 6 nearest towns: 5 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chirens | 42.6 | 20% | 2.9% | 5.8% |
| Apprieu 3,615 · 3.1 mi | 42.2 | 17% | 2% | 5.1% |
| Villages du Lac de Paladru 2,598 · 3.7 mi | 45.8 | 21% | 15% | 3.5% |
| Voiron 21,847 · 3.9 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 1.5% | 11% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Crossey 2,619 · 4.8 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| Coublevie 5,520 · 5 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 1.3% | 5.9% |
| Rives 6,549 · 5.2 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 1.7% | 9.6% |
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 Chirens
What is the population of Chirens?
2,546 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (2,340).
How old are Chirens’ residents?
The median age is 42.6, younger than 61% of compared French towns. 27% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chirens?
32, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chirens?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.8% of residents, and 72 foreign nationals (2.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chirens?
€29,660 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 6.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.