Second homes: 81%, a higher share than 99% of compared French towns
84% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). Lélex counted 241 residents and 120 households at the 2023 Census. The share of empty homes stands at 3.3%. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 85% of compared French towns: 16%.
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 Lélex
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 590 second homes and occasional dwellings in Lélex, 81% of its 730 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 8.3% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Lélex, 8.3% of households have no car, fewer than in 64% 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
12% of households rent social housing (HLM), a lower share than in 54% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town.
Faster growth than 52% of compared French towns: Lélex changed by +5% 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
The first five years brought −1%; the six to 2023, +6%.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.3%, a lower share than 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
■ Lélex 44.3. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 44.3, Lélex is older than 52% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 41%, a higher share than 71% 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 average 2 people. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 8%, fewer than in 80% of compared French towns. The share of couples with children tops 62% of compared French towns: 27%.
€27,890 a year is the median standard of living here
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.
At €27,890 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 70% of compared French towns.
Lélex ranks below 72% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 28%
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
With households headed by a manual worker at 16%, Lélex is ahead of 63% of compared French towns on that count. Meanwhile, households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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).
Lélex sits below 61% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (3.2%)
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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 54% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%. The comparison figure for foreign nationals is 4.3% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 6.1% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 65% of compared French towns: 41% of residents 15 and over are married
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 Lélex, 24% of residents 15 and over are single. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
In Lélex, 12% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 87% 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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 32% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. As a reference point, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 241 to 2,582 people: this is the 16th youngest
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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Of the 6 towns nearest Lélex, 1 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lélex | 44.3 | 16% | 81% | 6.1% |
| Thoiry 6,569 · 4.8 mi | 39 | 13% | 6.1% | 34% |
| Saint-Genis-Pouilly 14,432 · 5.5 mi | 33.9 | 9% | 6.2% | 41% |
| Gex 13,627 · 6.3 mi | 35 | 10% | 6.2% | 23% |
| Ségny 2,941 · 6.5 mi | 34.8 | 11% | 4.7% | 30% |
| Cessy 5,832 · 6.5 mi | 36.9 | 10% | 4.4% | 22% |
| Saint-Claude 8,386 · 7.3 mi | 48.5 | 26% | 5.1% | 20% |
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 Lélex
What is the population of Lélex?
241 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (229).
How old are Lélex’s residents?
The median age is 44.3, older than 52% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lélex?
590, with occasional dwellings: 81% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lélex?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.1% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Lélex?
€27,890 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.