A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 5.7%
The figure for households without a car is 2.8% in Charnay and 11% in the typical compared French town. 14% of homes are flats, or about one in seven. Higher than in 86% of compared French towns: 8.1% of homes are second homes. This Rhône town counted 1,023 residents and 430 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Rhône 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 Charnay
Many graduates
53% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 26% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Charnay had 1,072 residents at the 2012 census and 1,023 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −5% change since 2012: slower than 87% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was −1%; from 2017 to 2023, −3%.
Older than 81% of compared French towns: half of Charnay is over 49.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Charnay 49.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 29% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
7.1% of households are single parents, below 89% 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 Rhône median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. Elsewhere, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. 31% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 74% of compared French towns. At the same time, by its share of couples with children (27%), Charnay is above three fifths of compared French towns.
Charnay ranks below 70% of compared French towns on empty homes: 5.3%
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. Empty homes make up 6.7% in the typical compared French town. One in ten households arrived within the last two years, while 23% have stayed 30 years or more.
The median resident lives on €35,650 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.
At €35,650 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 96% of compared French towns.
In Charnay, 25% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 94% 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 manual worker: 9.4% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 28% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.4% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 88% of compared French towns
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.
With immigrants at 3.2%, Charnay is behind four fifths of compared French towns on that count. On average, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Charnay, 15% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer 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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 48% in Charnay. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Charnay sits above 95% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (53%)
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 adults with no qualification at 8.9%, Charnay is behind 97% of compared French towns on that count. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Charnay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charnay | 49.6 | 29% | 8.1% | 3.2% |
| Chazay-d'Azergues 4,410 · 2.3 mi | 43 | 20% | 0.9% | 6.2% |
| Lozanne 3,182 · 2.7 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 0.9% | 5.7% |
| Anse 8,206 · 3.9 mi | 38 | 16% | 1.4% | 8.5% |
| Dommartin 2,687 · 4.6 mi | 48.8 | 23% | 1.7% | 4% |
| L'Arbresle 6,537 · 4.6 mi | 40.1 | 18% | 1.7% | 11% |
| Pommiers 2,618 · 4.6 mi | 44.9 | 20% | 3.5% | 3.2% |
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 Charnay
What is the population of Charnay?
1,023 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (1,072).
How old are Charnay’s residents?
The median age is 49.6, older than 81% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Charnay?
40, with occasional dwellings: 8.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Charnay?
INSEE counts 33 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (1.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Charnay?
€35,650 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 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.