Fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns: 2%
In Challes, 3.7% of households have no car, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, households in social housing are scarce here: 1.6%, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns. The town had 1,156 residents in 500 households at the 2023 census. Across Challes, 29% of households are one person living alone.
Throughout this page, the Sarthe 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 Challes
Fewer residents than in 2012
Challes had 1,243 residents at the 2012 census and 1,156 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 93% of compared French towns: Challes changed by −7% since 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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Sarthe town ±0%.
Only 20% of residents are 65 or over in Challes
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Challes 43.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Challes sits close to the norm on residents aged 15 to 24: 11%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. With a median age of 43.8, Challes is younger than 52% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
More couples with children than 67% of compared French towns: 28%
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 Sarthe median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 2.3 people each. Few places have as many single-parent households: 12% here, more than in 77% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%.
Challes sits above 76% of compared French towns for second homes (4.8%)
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: 9.7%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 24%. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Challes has fewer empty homes than 64% of compared French towns, at 5.7%.
Standard of living at the median: €26,330 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €26,330 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 54% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 89% of compared French towns, at 22%
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 make up 6%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. 31% of households are headed by a retired person, or about one in three.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1%, a lower share than 99% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Challes has 0.6%. Across the comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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 Challes, 20% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 90% 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
The share of married residents tops 77% of compared French towns: 47%. Across the comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 72% 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
Census figures put adults with no qualification at 18% in Challes. For comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
16th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 1,156 to 2,582
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).
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Challes
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challes | 43.8 | 20% | 4.8% | 1% |
| Parigné-l'Évêque 5,358 · 3 mi | 45.1 | 24% | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Mars-la-Brière 2,681 · 7 mi | 42 | 20% | 2.3% | 2.6% |
| Changé 6,911 · 7.2 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 1.8% | 2.9% |
| Ruaudin 3,481 · 7.3 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 1.1% | 1.9% |
| Teloché 3,067 · 7.4 mi | 44.2 | 18% | 1.5% | 0.8% |
| Champagné 3,666 · 7.6 mi | 39.1 | 16% | 1.8% | 2.8% |
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 Challes
What is the population of Challes?
1,156 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (1,243).
How old are Challes’ residents?
The median age is 43.8, younger than 52% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Challes?
27, with occasional dwellings: 4.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Challes?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Challes?
€26,330 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.