La Chamba is older than 98% of compared French towns: a median age of 60
Couples with children are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. La Chamba is home to 42 residents in 26 households, by the 2023 Census. Put another way, about one in 22: 4.5% of households have no car. The share of flats trails 88% of compared French towns: 9.2%.
Throughout this page, the 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 La Chamba
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 31 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Chamba, 49% of its 64 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 81% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of La Chamba’s residents are under 60 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Chamba had 51 residents at the 2012 census and 42 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
50% of La Chamba’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 67% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
49% of homes in La Chamba 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Empty homes make up about one in nine here (11%).
−18% since 2012, a pace below 99% 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 change was −2% from 2012 to 2017 and −16% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Loire town +3%.
La Chamba ranks above 92% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 33%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Chamba 60. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, La Chamba has 14%. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A higher share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns, at 50%
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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%; La Chamba has 50%. To put it in context, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 1.6 people.
La Chamba sits above 97% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (50%)
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 manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for households headed by a retired person is 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0% of residents in La Chamba are immigrants
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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here 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.
In La Chamba, 36% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 94% 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 share of married residents is 33%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Adults with no qualification make up 16% in La Chamba, less than in 69% 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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in La Chamba comes in at 28%. Typically, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (42 to 2,582 people), the 4th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as La Chamba
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Chamba | 60 | 33% | 49% | 0% |
| Courpière 4,166 · 10.6 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 3.7% | 5.7% |
| Boën-sur-Lignon 3,001 · 11.8 mi | 55.3 | 35% | 2.3% | 3.6% |
| Thiers 11,637 · 12.9 mi | 48.6 | 27% | 3.8% | 11% |
| Ambert 6,517 · 14.1 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 8.2% | 6.5% |
| Montbrison 16,123 · 17.9 mi | 44.6 | 25% | 2.8% | 6.4% |
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 La Chamba
What is the population of La Chamba?
42 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (51).
How old are La Chamba’s residents?
The median age is 60, older than 98% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Chamba?
31, with occasional dwellings: 49% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Chamba?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.