Châtelain is younger than 91% of compared French towns
Châtelain had 470 residents in 190 households at the 2023 census. Half are older than 37.2, younger than 91% of compared French towns. 5% fewer people than in 2012. 3.8% of its homes are second homes; 2.3% of residents are immigrants, as INSEE defines them.
Throughout this page, the Mayenne 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 Châtelain
A town of families
39% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 23% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of Châtelain’s residents are under 37.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 23% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Châtelain had 496 residents at the 2012 census and 470 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Châtelain has 5% fewer residents than in 2012
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 Mayenne town 0%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was −5%; from 2017 to 2023, 0%.
Median age 37.2: younger than 91% 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
■ Châtelain 37.2. The median compared French town: 44.
14% of Châtelain’s residents are 65 or older, against 27% in the median Mayenne town and 22% in the median compared French town; 28% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
190 households; 29% are one person
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 Mayenne median and the France median
Living alone · share
39% of households are couples with children, against 25% in the median compared French town; 0% are single parents with their children (10%). The average household has 2.5 people.
98% of homes are houses
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
3.8% of homes are second homes (Mayenne median 2.1%, France median 2.1%) and 5.7% are empty (6.7%). One household in 17 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. 13% of households moved in less than two years ago; 19% have been in their home 30 years or more.
A median standard of living of €23,810 a year
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.
Half of Châtelain’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €23,810 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 74% of compared French towns.
The largest group of households: manual workers (34%)
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). 5.3% of Châtelain’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 13% by a retired person (32%).
2.3% of Châtelain’s residents are immigrants, as INSEE counts them
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.
That is lower than in 88% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Mayenne has 3.1%. INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
72% of residents 15 and over live as a couple
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
53% are married and 3% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 3.3% are widowed.
25% of adults hold a diploma above the bac
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
25% of Châtelain’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 16% have no diploma (19%).
The 2nd youngest of 41 French towns of 470 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is older than Châtelain
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Châtelain | 37.2 | 14% | 3.8% | 2.3% |
| Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne 16,584 · 5.2 mi | 50 | 30% | 2.1% | 3.1% |
| Les Hauts-d'Anjou 8,751 · 8.7 mi | 42.5 | 21% | 3.8% | 2.2% |
| Meslay-du-Maine 2,779 · 10 mi | 51.2 | 33% | 2.6% | 2.3% |
| Morannes sur Sarthe-Daumeray 3,687 · 11.2 mi | 44.2 | 23% | 8.6% | 2% |
| Sablé-sur-Sarthe 12,326 · 12.5 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 2.7% | 14% |
| Précigné 2,877 · 13 mi | 48.7 | 23% | 3.7% | 1.5% |
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 Châtelain
What is the population of Châtelain?
470 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (496).
How old are Châtelain’s residents?
The median age is 37.2, younger than 91% of compared French towns. 28% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Châtelain?
10, with occasional dwellings: 3.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Châtelain?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Châtelain?
€23,810 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 October 30, 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.