Chantonnay ranks above 99% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 29%
By its share of flats (15%), Chantonnay is below 77% of compared French towns. The median age here is 45.8, higher than in 62% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 8,557 residents in 3,850 households. The share of empty homes stands at 8%.
Throughout this page, the Vendée 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.
Since 2012, Chantonnay has changed by +3%, slower than 57% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +9% for the median Vendée town, the change came in two steps: ±0% from 2012 to 2017, then +3% to 2023.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 54% of compared French towns: 23%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chantonnay 45.8. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24, or about one in nine. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of single-parent households than 66% of compared French towns, at 9%
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 Vendée median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.2 people share a household. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 58% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, single-parent households come to 10%. One-person households: 34%, below 54% of compared French towns.
More second homes than 66% of compared French towns: 3.5%
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
One household in 11 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 9.9% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 23%. Chantonnay has fewer households in social housing than 60% of compared French towns, at 10%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €24,630 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,630 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 65% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 11.0% of residents.
Below 94% of compared French towns: 3.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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 retired person is 35%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Against that, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
3.3% of residents are immigrants, below 80% 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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 2.5% in Chantonnay. On average, 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.
More married residents than 88% of compared French towns: 49%
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
22% of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 88% 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
27% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
16th highest median age among 41 French towns of 8,469 to 8,650
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 Varces-Allières-et-Risset (35.8), the youngest, and Le Grau-du-Roi (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Chantonnay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chantonnay | 45.8 | 23% | 3.5% | 3.3% |
| Bournezeau 3,452 · 6.5 mi | 39.8 | 19% | 4.7% | 1.7% |
| Mouchamps 3,015 · 7.1 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 3.2% | 2.7% |
| Saint-Martin-des-Noyers 2,560 · 7.3 mi | 41 | 20% | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Hermine 3,611 · 9.2 mi | 42.4 | 22% | 5.2% | 3.1% |
| Le Boupère 3,151 · 9.4 mi | 44 | 23% | 4.4% | 1.3% |
| Essarts-en-Bocage 6,851 · 11.4 mi | 40.9 | 17% | 1.5% | 2.3% |
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 Chantonnay
What is the population of Chantonnay?
8,557 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (8,306).
How old are Chantonnay’s residents?
The median age is 45.8, older than 62% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chantonnay?
150, with occasional dwellings: 3.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chantonnay?
INSEE counts 280 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.3% of residents, and 210 foreign nationals (2.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chantonnay?
€24,630 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 11.0% 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 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.