Photo: Leo Wehrli · CC BY-SA 4.0Empty homes: 20%, a higher share than 99% of compared French towns
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, 29% of households are headed by a manual worker here. Nantua is home to 3,416 residents in 1,530 households, by the 2023 Census. In Nantua, 79% of homes are flats. On single-parent households, Nantua sits lower than 90% 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 Nantua
Immigrants
INSEE counts 900 immigrants in Nantua (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 27% of residents, against 8.5% for the median compared commune in Ain. 24% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Empty homes
The census found 390 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Nantua had 3,588 residents at the 2012 census and 3,416 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −5% since 2012, behind 87% 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
The change was −4% from 2012 to 2017 and −1% from 2017 to 2023.
Half of Nantua is under 42.3, younger than 63% 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
■ Nantua 42.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up about one in nine here (11%). 23% of residents are 65 or over (typical compared French town: 22%).
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%.
Nantua ranks above 80% of compared French towns on one-person households: 43%
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
The average household has 2.1 people. As a reference point, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Just over a quarter of households are couples with children, against 25% in the median compared French town; 6.9% are single parents with their children (10%).
In Nantua, 25% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 86% 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
Second homes: 3.6%, above just over two thirds of compared French towns. The share of households without a car stands at 14%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing is 12%.
Median standard of living: €20,470 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €20,470 a year: lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 32.0% of the population.
Nantua sits below 75% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (6.2%)
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 29% of households are headed by a retired person, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 32%. Across the comparison, 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).
Nantua sits above 97% of compared French towns for immigrants (27%)
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 (24%), Nantua is above 98% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Nantua sits above 65% of compared French towns for single residents (27%)
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
41% of residents 15 and over are married, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Nantua ranks above 93% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 31%
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 share of graduates of higher education is 21%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
41 French towns of 3,388 to 3,445 people: this is the 12th 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.
Moult-Chicheboville is the youngest (35.9); Sainte-Marie-de-Ré the oldest (58.5).
A younger town than 3 of the 6 around it: Nantua
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nantua | 42.3 | 23% | 3.6% | 27% |
| Montréal-la-Cluse 3,568 · 2.5 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 2.2% | 23% |
| Bellignat 3,525 · 6.8 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 1.7% | 26% |
| Oyonnax 22,480 · 7.6 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.1% | 33% |
| Arbent 3,555 · 9.7 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 1% | 24% |
| Valserhône 16,712 · 10.2 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 2.9% | 21% |
| Plateau d'Hauteville 4,857 · 12.8 mi | 50.8 | 29% | 11% | 7% |
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 Nantua
What is the population of Nantua?
3,416 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (3,588).
How old are Nantua’s residents?
The median age is 42.3, younger than 63% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Nantua?
72, with occasional dwellings: 3.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Nantua?
INSEE counts 910 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 27% of residents, and 810 foreign nationals (24%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Nantua?
€20,470 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 32.0% 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 9, 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.