Chaon sits below 99% of compared French towns for flats (0.3%)
2.9% of households rent social housing (HLM), against 12% in the typical compared French town. There were 210 households in Chaon at the 2023 Census, home to 435 residents. Single-parent households account for 2.4%. On residents aged 15 to 24, Chaon sits lower than 88% of compared French towns: 8.5%.
Throughout this page, the Loir-et-Cher 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 Chaon
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 80 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chaon, 24% of its 330 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 100% 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
Chaon had 467 residents at the 2012 census and 435 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 43 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
24% of homes in Chaon are second homes
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
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Chaon, 2.9%. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town. About one in eight: that is how common empty homes are in Chaon (13%).
From 2012 to 2023, 93% of compared French towns grew faster than Chaon: −7%
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 change was −2% from 2012 to 2017 and −5% from 2017 to 2023.
Chaon: 27% of residents are 65 or over, above 78% 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
■ Chaon 47.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Chaon’s residents are over 47.9, older than in 74% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loir-et-Cher 52.4%, France 51.8%.
Only 21% of households are couples with children in Chaon
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 Loir-et-Cher median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.1 people in the average household. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. More one-person households than in 62% of compared French towns: 38%.
€24,790 a year: the median 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €24,790 a year: lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
Chaon sits above 93% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (45%)
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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional trails 87% of compared French towns: 4.8%. Meanwhile, households headed by a manual worker are more common here than in 88% 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).
2.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 89% 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.
1.4% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). For comparison, 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.
22% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 80% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Chaon has 47%. The usual figure: 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 77% of compared French towns: 23%
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
18% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 57% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 435 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Chaon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaon | 47.9 | 27% | 24% | 2.3% |
| Lamotte-Beuvron 4,504 · 6.7 mi | 51 | 31% | 3.6% | 4.7% |
| La Ferté-Saint-Aubin 7,284 · 13 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 3.5% | 4.2% |
| Sully-sur-Loire 5,124 · 13.8 mi | 45.4 | 28% | 5% | 15% |
| Salbris 4,809 · 13.9 mi | 54.2 | 32% | 6.5% | 9.2% |
| Aubigny-sur-Nère 5,451 · 14.9 mi | 51.8 | 31% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Jargeau 4,610 · 17.5 mi | 40.5 | 19% | 1.8% | 5.6% |
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 Chaon
What is the population of Chaon?
435 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (467).
How old are Chaon’s residents?
The median age is 47.9, older than 74% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chaon?
80, with occasional dwellings: 24% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chaon?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (1.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chaon?
€24,790 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 8, 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.