Above 98% of compared French towns: 56% of homes are second homes
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In Devesset, 2.9% of homes stand empty. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 310, in 160 households. Flats: 8.9%, below 89% 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 Devesset
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 210 second homes and occasional dwellings in Devesset, 56% of its 380 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 93% 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 Devesset’s residents are under 53.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 25% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 1.9% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Devesset
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%; Devesset has 5.7%. For comparison, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
Devesset grew +8% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 63% 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 median Ardèche town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +3% and the next six +5%.
Half of Devesset is over 53.8, older than 92% 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
■ Devesset 53.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 25%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 6.1%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of one-person households than 60% of compared French towns: 38%
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
Each household has 2 people on average. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Nearly one in ten households are single parents, fewer than in 61% of compared French towns. Couples with children are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 25%.
Half above, half below €22,350 a year in standard of living
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 Devesset’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,350 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 87% of compared French towns.
38% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 76% 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
Here 13% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. The wider picture: 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).
Devesset sits below 71% of compared French towns for immigrants (4.2%)
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.
In Devesset, 3.2% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 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 married residents than 95% of compared French towns: 51%
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
Single residents: 24%, below three fifths of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
30% of adults hold a diploma above the bac
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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification, a higher share than in 50% of compared French towns.
41 French towns of 310 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Older than Devesset: 2 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devesset | 53.8 | 25% | 56% | 4.2% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 4 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
| Tence 3,111 · 5.9 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 19% | 1.9% |
| Dunières 2,670 · 10.7 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 6.5% | 4.1% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 10.9 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Yssingeaux 7,415 · 13.9 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 9.2% | 3.2% |
| Sainte-Sigolène 6,097 · 14.7 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 4% | 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 Devesset
What is the population of Devesset?
310 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (287).
How old are Devesset’s residents?
The median age is 53.8, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Devesset?
210, with occasional dwellings: 56% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Devesset?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.2% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Devesset?
€22,350 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 October 30, 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.