A higher share of couples with children than 98% of compared French towns, at 39%
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Chenay comes in at 28%. Across Chenay, 4.9% of residents are 15 to 24. Households without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. This Sarthe town had 255 residents in 96 households at the 2023 Census.
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 Chenay
A town of families
39% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 26% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Chenay had 210 residents at the 2012 census and 255 in 2023, up 21%: faster growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Chenay grew +21% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 92% 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
Here the change came as +10% to 2017, then +10% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, ±0% in Sarthe.
Younger than 84% of compared French towns: half of Chenay is under 39.1
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chenay 39.1. The median compared French town: 44.
19% of Chenay’s residents are 65 or older, against 26% in the median Sarthe town and 22% in the median compared French town; 30% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
Chenay ranks below 99% of compared French towns on one-person households: 11%
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
Against a figure of 10% in the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households in Chenay comes in at 11%. Elsewhere, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. There are 2.7 people in the average household.
3.5% of homes are second homes, more than in 67% 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
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%. Locally, 7% of homes stand empty.
Median living standard: €27,170 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 €27,170 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 63% of compared French towns.
Only 17% of households are headed by a retired person in Chenay
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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Chenay, 11%. On average, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0.8% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 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.
The share of foreign nationals is 0.4%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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.
Single residents: 11%, a lower share than 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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Chenay, 49%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
6.9% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 99% 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
Here two in five adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
The 2nd youngest of 41 French towns of 255 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is older than Chenay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chenay | 39.1 | 19% | 3.5% | 0.8% |
| Alençon 25,490 · 3.3 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.1% | 12% |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis 3,636 · 4.7 mi | 54 | 35% | 1.4% | 5% |
| Sées 4,168 · 11 mi | 51.8 | 33% | 2.9% | 1.9% |
| Mamers 4,996 · 11.7 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 1.4% | 4.2% |
| Fresnay-sur-Sarthe 2,928 · 12 mi | 51 | 33% | 7% | 2.2% |
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 Chenay
What is the population of Chenay?
255 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 21% more than in 2012 (210).
How old are Chenay’s residents?
The median age is 39.1, younger than 84% of compared French towns. 30% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chenay?
4, with occasional dwellings: 3.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chenay?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.8% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chenay?
€27,170 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.