A median age of 60.3: La Chambonie is older than 98% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person; in La Chambonie, 20%. Households without a car make up about one in 23 here (4.3%). Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 Chambonie
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 32 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Chambonie, 53% of its 60 homes: higher than in 98% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of La Chambonie’s residents are under 60.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 21% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Chambonie had 51 residents at the 2012 census and 39 in 2023, down 24%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
60% of La Chambonie’s households are one person: higher than in 99% of compared French towns; 50% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
La Chambonie sits above 98% of compared French towns for second homes (53%)
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 17% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 8.7% (under two years). Measured more widely, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Still, with empty homes at 8.3%, La Chambonie is ahead of 67% of compared French towns on that count.
A change of −24% since 2012 leaves La Chambonie behind 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +3% for the median Loire town, the change came in two steps: −18% from 2012 to 2017, then −7% to 2023.
In La Chambonie, 2.6% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% 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
■ La Chambonie 60.3. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 31% in La Chambonie and 22% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
41% women, 59% men
About 70 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 60%, a higher share than 99% of compared French towns
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, a fifth of households are couples with children here. For comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 1.7 people on average.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 40%, a higher share than 99% 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
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 0% of La Chambonie’s residents
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 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.
Married residents make up 28% in La Chambonie, less than in 99% 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
With single residents at 22%, La Chambonie is behind 77% of compared French towns on that count. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
La Chambonie sits below 99% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (12%)
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 19% in the typical compared French town, 32% of adults out of school have no qualification here. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
Ranked by age, 4th oldest 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Every neighbor is younger than La Chambonie
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Chambonie | 60.3 | 31% | 53% | 0% |
| Courpière 4,166 · 10 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 3.7% | 5.7% |
| Boën-sur-Lignon 3,001 · 12.4 mi | 55.3 | 35% | 2.3% | 3.6% |
| Thiers 11,637 · 12.5 mi | 48.6 | 27% | 3.8% | 11% |
| Ambert 6,517 · 13.7 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 8.2% | 6.5% |
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 Chambonie
What is the population of La Chambonie?
39 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 24% fewer than in 2012 (51).
How old are La Chambonie’s residents?
The median age is 60.3, older than 98% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Chambonie?
32, with occasional dwellings: 53% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Chambonie?
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 9, 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.