Photo: Florian Pépellin ( Floflo ) · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Chauffailles is over 58.1, older than 97% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 35% in the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households in Chauffailles comes in at 46%. For Chauffailles, the census puts households headed by a manager or professional at 4.5%. 6.3% of homes are second homes, more than in 81% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 3,638 people lived here, in 1,890 households.
Throughout this page, the Saône-et-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 Chauffailles
An older town
Half of Chauffailles’ residents are under 58.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 39% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 310 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chauffailles had 3,818 residents at the 2012 census and 3,638 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −3%, then −2% to 2023.
39% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 97% 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
■ Chauffailles 58.1. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Chauffailles has 7.1%. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Below 92% of compared French towns: 14% of households are couples with children
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 Saône-et-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 1.9 people. Typically, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. On single-parent households, Chauffailles sits lower than 83% of compared French towns: 7.7%.
Chauffailles: 13% of homes stand empty, above 92% 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
Car-free households: one in six, where the median compared French town has 11%. 8.2% of households rent social housing (HLM), or about one in 12. More households without a car than in 77% of compared French towns: 17%. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €23,050 a year in standard of living
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.
The median standard of living in Chauffailles is €23,050 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 81% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 17.0%.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 98% of compared French towns: 51%
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
The share of households headed by a manual worker tops 76% of compared French towns: 18%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 6% of Chauffailles’ 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.
The median compared commune in Saône-et-Loire has 6.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 54% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up about one in 17 here (6%). Foreign nationals are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 4.7%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Chauffailles, 23% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 71% 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
Census figures put married residents at 43% in Chauffailles. For comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 16%, a lower share than 95% 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
In Chauffailles, 32% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
41 French towns of 3,611 to 3,665 people: this is the 3rd oldest
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 Lizy-sur-Ourcq (37.6), the youngest, and Plestin-les-Grèves (61.5), the oldest.
Every neighbor is younger than Chauffailles
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chauffailles | 58.1 | 39% | 6.3% | 6% |
| Cours 4,306 · 7.3 mi | 51.1 | 31% | 5.8% | 4.7% |
| Charlieu 3,766 · 8.6 mi | 50.4 | 32% | 7.2% | 4.1% |
| Thizy-les-Bourgs 5,771 · 11.6 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Pouilly-sous-Charlieu 2,588 · 11.6 mi | 49.2 | 28% | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Mably 7,233 · 15.9 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 0.8% | 7.8% |
| Amplepuis 4,876 · 16.1 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
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 Chauffailles
What is the population of Chauffailles?
3,638 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (3,818).
How old are Chauffailles’ residents?
The median age is 58.1, older than 97% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 39% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chauffailles?
150, with occasional dwellings: 6.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chauffailles?
INSEE counts 220 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6% of residents, and 170 foreign nationals (4.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chauffailles?
€23,050 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 17.0% 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.