Dortan sits above 87% of compared French towns for couples with children (33%)
The share of households headed by a manual worker tops 91% of compared French towns: 23%. Meanwhile, the median age in Dortan is 41.8, lower than in two thirds of compared French towns. 2,074 residents in 880 households: that is Dortan at the 2023 Census. On the census count, 7.8% of households have no car.
Throughout this page, the Ain 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.
Faster growth than 72% of compared French towns: Dortan changed by +11% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +13% for the median Ain town, the change came in two steps: −1% from 2012 to 2017, then +12% to 2023.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 72% of compared French towns, at 9.5%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Dortan 41.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In Dortan, a fifth of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
Dortan ranks below 82% of compared French towns on one-person households: 29%
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 Ain median and the France median
Living alone · share
7.3% of households are single parents, against 10% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%. Average household size: 2.4 people.
Dortan ranks above 54% of compared French towns on flats: 32%
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
Newcomers of less than two years account for one in ten households, residents of 30 years or more for 29%. Dortan has more households in social housing than 55% of compared French towns, at 13%. Empty homes: 6.4%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €25,940 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 Dortan is €25,940 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 50% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 31%, a lower share than 58% 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
Here, 8.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional. To put it in context, 32% 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).
A higher share of foreign nationals than 91% of compared French towns, at 14%
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.
6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 15% in Dortan. That is higher than in 85% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%. Against that, 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.
Dortan ranks above 94% of compared French towns on married residents: 51%
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
By its share of single residents (21%), Dortan is below 85% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification make up 24% in Dortan, more than in 73% 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
A quarter of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, against 30% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification.
Ranked by age, 8th youngest 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Dortan is younger than 4 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dortan | 41.8 | 20% | 2% | 15% |
| Arbent 3,555 · 2.7 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 1% | 24% |
| Oyonnax 22,480 · 4 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.1% | 33% |
| Bellignat 3,525 · 4.7 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 1.7% | 26% |
| Montréal-la-Cluse 3,568 · 10 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 2.2% | 23% |
| Saint-Claude 8,386 · 11.3 mi | 48.5 | 26% | 5.1% | 20% |
| Nantua 3,416 · 11.5 mi | 42.3 | 23% | 3.6% | 27% |
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 Dortan
What is the population of Dortan?
2,074 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (1,871).
How old are Dortan’s residents?
The median age is 41.8, younger than 67% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dortan?
19, with occasional dwellings: 2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dortan?
INSEE counts 310 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 15% of residents, and 300 foreign nationals (14%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dortan?
€25,940 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.