Younger than 92% of compared French towns: half of Ferney-Voltaire is under 36.7
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 29% in Ferney-Voltaire. In 2023, the Census found 12,094 residents here, living in 5,760 households. Here, 3.6% of homes stand empty. One-person households are more common here than in 82% of compared French towns.
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.
What stands out about the people of Ferney-Voltaire
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 1,200 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ferney-Voltaire, 17% of its 7,220 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 5.7% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 5,500 immigrants in Ferney-Voltaire (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 46% of residents, against 8.5% for the median compared commune in Ain. 38% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Growing fast
Ferney-Voltaire had 8,844 residents at the 2012 census and 12,094 in 2023, up 37%: faster growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A young town
Half of Ferney-Voltaire’s residents are under 36.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 19% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Ferney-Voltaire ranks above 98% of compared French towns on flats: 92%
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
Second homes: 17% here and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. The share of households without a car stands at 19%. Households in social housing are more common here than in 74% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
A +37% change since 2012: faster than 98% 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 +13% for the median Ain town, the change came in two steps: +10% from 2012 to 2017, then +24% to 2023.
Ferney-Voltaire sits below 97% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (12%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ferney-Voltaire 36.7. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Ferney-Voltaire has 9.9%. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 23%, a lower share than 61% of compared French towns
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
Average household size: 2.1 people. Elsewhere, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 10% of households are single parents, more than in 50% of compared French towns.
A median standard of living of €29,500 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 Ferney-Voltaire’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €29,500 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 82% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 28.0%.
18% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 98% 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
The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 9.6% in Ferney-Voltaire and 14% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Ferney-Voltaire ranks above 99% of compared French towns on immigrants: 46%
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.
By its share of foreign nationals (38%), Ferney-Voltaire is above 99% of compared French towns. 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.
A larger share of single residents than 85% of compared French towns: 32%
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 stands at 43%. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
In Ferney-Voltaire, 56% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 96% 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
The figure for adults with no qualification is 13% in Ferney-Voltaire and 19% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 3rd youngest of 41 French towns of 11,896 to 12,410 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.
Ages run from 33.7 in Saint-Pierre-du-Perray to 61.1 in Saint-Cyprien.
Ferney-Voltaire is younger than 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferney-Voltaire | 36.7 | 12% | 17% | 46% |
| Prévessin-Moëns 9,153 · 1.5 mi | 36.5 | 10% | 11% | 37% |
| Ornex 5,082 · 1.7 mi | 37.9 | 12% | 4.8% | 38% |
| Ségny 2,941 · 3.3 mi | 34.8 | 11% | 4.7% | 30% |
| Saint-Genis-Pouilly 14,432 · 4 mi | 33.9 | 9% | 6.2% | 41% |
| Cessy 5,832 · 4.8 mi | 36.9 | 10% | 4.4% | 22% |
| Gex 13,627 · 5.9 mi | 35 | 10% | 6.2% | 23% |
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 Ferney-Voltaire
What is the population of Ferney-Voltaire?
12,094 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 37% more than in 2012 (8,844).
How old are Ferney-Voltaire’s residents?
The median age is 36.7, younger than 92% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ferney-Voltaire?
1,200, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ferney-Voltaire?
INSEE counts 5,520 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 46% of residents, and 4,560 foreign nationals (38%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ferney-Voltaire?
€29,500 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 28.0% 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.