One-person households make up 15% in Joyeux, less than in 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Joyeux has 20%. This Ain town had 262 residents in 100 households at the 2023 Census. Flats: 3.3% of the total. Fewer households in social housing than in 77% of compared French towns: 6.9%.
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 Joyeux
One home in 10 is a second home
The census counted 12 second homes and occasional dwellings in Joyeux, 10% of its 120 homes: higher than in 88% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
A town of families
35% of households are couples with children and 10% single parents with children; 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Joyeux sits below 99% of compared French towns for households without a car (2%)
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
Little separates the share of empty homes here, 6%, from the figure in the typical compared French town. About one in ten: that is how common second homes are in Joyeux (10%). In the typical compared French town, households without a car come to 11%.
+5% since 2012: slower than 50% 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
In two steps, +8% to 2017 and −3% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +13% in Ain.
18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 77% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Joyeux 43. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Joyeux’s residents are under 43, younger than in 58% of compared French towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 11% here, about one in ten. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 35%, a higher share than 93% 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
Households here average 2.6 people each. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children. Lower than in 50% of compared French towns: 10% of households are single parents.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €27,730 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 €27,730 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 68% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manual worker than 96% of compared French towns: 5%
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
Where 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Joyeux has 25%. To put it in context, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Joyeux, 2.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 89% 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%; Joyeux has 2.3%. Against that, 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.
50% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 92% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
At 25%, the share of single residents is lower than in 55% of compared French towns. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
More graduates of higher education than 89% of compared French towns: 46%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Joyeux has 12%. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
12th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 262 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Joyeux is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyeux | 43 | 18% | 10% | 2.3% |
| Chalamont 2,533 · 4.7 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 2.4% | 3.6% |
| Villars-les-Dombes 5,163 · 4.8 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 2.8% | 7% |
| Meximieux 8,247 · 5.4 mi | 39 | 18% | 2.2% | 7.5% |
| Villieu-Loyes-Mollon 3,849 · 6.4 mi | 41.1 | 17% | 3.2% | 3.4% |
| Montluel 6,895 · 6.8 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 1.2% | 14% |
| Béligneux 3,535 · 6.8 mi | 36.7 | 16% | 1.3% | 6.4% |
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 Joyeux
What is the population of Joyeux?
262 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (250).
How old are Joyeux’s residents?
The median age is 43, younger than 58% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Joyeux?
12, with occasional dwellings: 10% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Joyeux?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Joyeux?
€27,730 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.