A median age of 63.2: Dornas is older than 99% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children in Dornas comes in at 15%. There were 110 households here at the 2023 Census, home to 195 residents. Households without a car: 1.8% of the total. On flats, Dornas sits lower than 98% of compared French towns: 3.1%.
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 Dornas
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Dornas, 46% of its 260 homes: higher than in 97% 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 Dornas’ residents are under 63.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 45% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Dornas had 264 residents at the 2012 census and 195 in 2023, down 26%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 32 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A town of second homes: 46% of its homes
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 12% of homes stand empty. Typically, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Dornas’s population moved −26% on 2012, less than in 99% 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
Here the change came as −22% to 2017, then −6% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +4% in Ardèche.
Dornas sits above 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (45%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Dornas 63.2. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Dornas, 4.4%. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
41% women, 59% men
About 70 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
In Dornas, 4.6% of households are single parents, fewer than in 99% 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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, against 44% in Dornas. On average, 1.8 people share a household. Against that, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
A median of €22,500 a year per consumption unit
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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €22,500 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
Dornas ranks above 84% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 40%
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
The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 9.7% in Dornas and 14% in the typical compared French town. Typically, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Dornas sits below 78% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (2.1%)
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 immigrants is 6.5%; Dornas has 4.7%. That is lower than in 67% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%. On average, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
21% of residents 15 and over are single, below 88% 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
Married residents: 45% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns: 15%
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 Dornas, nearly a third of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 195 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Dornas (63.2), the oldest.
Every neighbor is younger than Dornas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dornas | 63.2 | 45% | 46% | 4.7% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 5.2 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Vals-les-Bains 3,474 · 13.1 mi | 56.1 | 36% | 24% | 5.2% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 14.4 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
| Privas 8,538 · 14.6 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 2.3% | 10% |
| Aubenas 12,416 · 16.4 mi | 47.9 | 29% | 5.3% | 12% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 17.8 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
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 Dornas
What is the population of Dornas?
195 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% fewer than in 2012 (264).
How old are Dornas’ residents?
The median age is 63.2, older than 99% of compared French towns. 8.5% are under 18 and 45% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dornas?
120, with occasional dwellings: 46% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dornas?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.7% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dornas?
€22,500 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.