Photo: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 4.0More households in social housing than 98% of compared French towns: 39%
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of flats in Châlons-en-Champagne comes in at 68%. There were 21,730 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 42,971 residents. The census found that 24% of households have no car locally. Few places have so few couples with children: 15% here, fewer than in 90% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Marne 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 Châlons-en-Champagne
Many people living alone
52% of Châlons-en-Champagne’s households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 42% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Social housing
39% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 23% rent privately and 37% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Châlons-en-Champagne had 45,225 residents at the 2012 census and 42,971 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 88% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Châlons-en-Champagne’s population moved −5% on 2012, less than in 88% 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 −1% from 2012 to 2017 and −4% from 2017 to 2023.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 94% of compared French towns: 14%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Châlons-en-Champagne 41.2. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 41.2, Châlons-en-Champagne is younger than 71% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 21% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Marne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 96% of compared French towns, at 52%
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 Marne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 1.9 people each. Higher than in 65% of compared French towns: 11% of households are single parents. As a yardstick, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
7.4% of homes stand empty, more than in 58% 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 four has no car (median compared French town: 11%). The usual figure: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 40: 2.5% of homes are second homes.
The median resident lives on €22,530 a year per consumption unit
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 €22,530 a year: lower than in 85% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 24.5% of residents.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 70% of compared French towns, at 17%
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 in the typical compared French town, against 29% in Châlons-en-Champagne. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 8.7% locally. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
10% of residents are immigrants, a share 72% of compared French towns don’t reach
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: 7.7%, above 73% of compared French towns. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
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 31% in Châlons-en-Champagne, less 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
With single residents at 36%, Châlons-en-Champagne is ahead of 94% of compared French towns on that count. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Châlons-en-Champagne, 26% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 81% 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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Châlons-en-Champagne has 25%. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
18th highest median age among 41 French towns of 40,389 to 45,702
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Stains (32.4), the youngest, and Sète (53.6), the oldest.
Of the 6 towns nearest Châlons-en-Champagne, 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châlons-en-Champagne | 41.2 | 21% | 2.5% | 10% |
| Saint-Memmie 5,441 · 0.9 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 0.8% | 7.4% |
| Fagnières 4,858 · 1.9 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 0.8% | 9.3% |
| Mourmelon-le-Grand 4,895 · 12.6 mi | 30.8 | 11% | 1.2% | 2.5% |
| Suippes 3,938 · 14.2 mi | 32.4 | 14% | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| Blancs-Coteaux 3,080 · 16.5 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 3.9% | 1.9% |
| Aÿ-Champagne 5,103 · 17 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 3.2% | 2.5% |
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 Châlons-en-Champagne
What is the population of Châlons-en-Champagne?
42,971 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (45,225).
How old are Châlons-en-Champagne’s residents?
The median age is 41.2, younger than 71% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châlons-en-Champagne?
600, with occasional dwellings: 2.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châlons-en-Champagne?
INSEE counts 4,430 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 3,300 foreign nationals (7.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châlons-en-Champagne?
€22,530 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.5% 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 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.