More second homes than 95% of compared French towns: 31%
Against a figure of 12% in the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing in Désaignes comes in at 4.2%. There were 560 households here at the 2023 Census, home to 1,151 residents. Put another way, about one in 21: 4.8% of homes are flats. 5.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 83% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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 Désaignes
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 300 second homes and occasional dwellings in Désaignes, 31% of its 990 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Désaignes’ residents are under 52 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 130 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes make up 13% in Désaignes, more than in 91% 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
One household in 14 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Fewer households without a car than in 73% of compared French towns: 7.1%. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 7.2% moved in during the last two years and 25% have stayed three decades or more.
Désaignes’s population moved −1% on 2012, less than in 75% 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 +4% for the median Ardèche town, the change came in two steps: −5% from 2012 to 2017, then +4% to 2023.
In Désaignes, 6.4% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 98% 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
■ Désaignes 52. The median compared French town: 44.
29% of residents are 65 or over; in the typical compared French town the figure is 22%. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. With a median age of 52, Désaignes is older than 89% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of couples with children than 69% of compared French towns, at 21%
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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%; Désaignes has 37%. On the census count, 8% of households are single parents. As a yardstick, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €22,270 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.
At €22,270 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 87% of compared French towns.
Désaignes ranks above 85% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 21%
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
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 34% in Désaignes. 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).
Désaignes sits below 67% of compared French towns for immigrants (4.6%)
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.
3.9% of residents are foreign nationals, or about one in 26. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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.
In Désaignes, 40% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 67% of compared French towns
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 single residents trails nearly two thirds of compared French towns: 23%. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
27% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 62% 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
With adults with no qualification at 21%, Désaignes is ahead of 59% of compared French towns on that count. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
The 9th oldest of 41 French towns of 1,151 to 2,582 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Around Désaignes, 2 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Désaignes | 52 | 29% | 31% | 4.6% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 7.4 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 11.1 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
| Tence 3,111 · 13.7 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 19% | 1.9% |
| Saint-Péray 7,580 · 16.2 mi | 47.6 | 25% | 1.6% | 3.3% |
| Tournon-sur-Rhône 11,279 · 16.2 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 2.3% | 10% |
| La Roche-de-Glun 3,569 · 16.5 mi | 45.2 | 24% | 1.5% | 2.5% |
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 Désaignes
What is the population of Désaignes?
1,151 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (1,166).
How old are Désaignes’ residents?
The median age is 52, older than 89% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Désaignes?
300, with occasional dwellings: 31% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Désaignes?
INSEE counts 53 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.6% of residents, and 44 foreign nationals (3.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Désaignes?
€22,270 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.