More couples with children than 97% of compared French towns: 38%
By its share of flats (1.9%), Chahains is below 99% of compared French towns. The town had 81 residents in 36 households at the 2023 Census. Across Chahains, 4.3% of homes stand empty. At 12%, the share of households headed by a manual worker is lower than in 60% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Orne 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 Chahains
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 15 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chahains, 28% of its 53 homes: higher than in 95% 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
Chahains had 97 residents at the 2012 census and 81 in 2023, down 16%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
38% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 13% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 95% of compared French towns, at 28%
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 that moved in under two years ago: 5.7%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 31%. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes.
−16% since 2012: slower than 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
Over those years, the median Orne town changed −5% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −11%, then −6% to 2023.
Chahains is older than 81% of compared French towns: a median age of 49.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chahains 49.5. The median compared French town: 44.
25% of residents are 65 or over (typical compared French town: 22%). The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 13%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 12% of households are one person living alone
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 Orne median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.3 people share a household. The usual figure: just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Households headed by a retired person: 38%, a higher share than 76% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Chahains: 6.3% of residents 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.
That is lower than in 51% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Orne has 4.6%. The census found that 5.1% of residents are foreign nationals in Chahains.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Chahains ranks above 99% of compared French towns on married residents: 62%
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
Single residents make up 17%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Chahains ranks below 86% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 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
With graduates of higher education at 28%, Chahains is behind 56% of compared French towns on that count. As a reference point, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 14th 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.
Around Chahains, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chahains | 49.5 | 25% | 28% | 6.3% |
| La Ferté Macé 5,071 · 11.1 mi | 53.8 | 32% | 3.2% | 6.1% |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis 3,636 · 13.1 mi | 54 | 35% | 1.4% | 5% |
| Alençon 25,490 · 13.4 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.1% | 12% |
| Argentan 13,527 · 13.4 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 2.3% | 8.2% |
| Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie 2,699 · 13.7 mi | 61.9 | 45% | 54% | 7.1% |
| Sées 4,168 · 13.8 mi | 51.8 | 33% | 2.9% | 1.9% |
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 Chahains
What is the population of Chahains?
81 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% fewer than in 2012 (97).
How old are Chahains’ residents?
The median age is 49.5, older than 81% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chahains?
15, with occasional dwellings: 28% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chahains?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.3% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (5.1%). 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.