A smaller share of empty homes than 98% of compared French towns: 2.2%
Where 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, Fons has 8%. In Fons, 4.6% of homes are flats. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 316 people lived in the town, in 150 households.
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 Fons
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 31 second homes and occasional dwellings in Fons, 17% of its 180 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 94% 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 Fons’ residents are under 50.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 25% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 2.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 17% in Fons, more than in 92% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%; Fons has 3.6%. The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town. 30% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 8.5% moved in within the last two years.
−1% since 2012, a pace below 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +3%; from 2017 to 2023, −4%.
A median age of 50.7: Fons is older than 85% 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
■ Fons 50.7. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 25% in Fons and 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 17% in Fons, more than in 98% 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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 16% of households are couples with children in Fons. Typically, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. The share of one-person households stands at 32%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €27,220 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.
The median standard of living in Fons is €27,220 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 63% of compared French towns.
In Fons, 46% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 94% 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
Households headed by a manual worker make up 10%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. 6.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, or about one in 15.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Fons, 1.9% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns
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 Fons, 0.6% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 46% in Fons, more than in 69% 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
Single residents are rarer here than in 56% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
11% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 92% 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 graduates of higher education at 39%, Fons is ahead of 78% of compared French towns on that count. The comparison figure for adults with no qualification is 19% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (316 to 2,582 people), the 11th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Around Fons, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fons | 50.7 | 25% | 17% | 1.9% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 1.7 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Aubenas 12,416 · 3.1 mi | 47.9 | 29% | 5.3% | 12% |
| Vals-les-Bains 3,474 · 5.7 mi | 56.1 | 36% | 24% | 5.2% |
| Villeneuve-de-Berg 3,031 · 7.7 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 8% | 5.1% |
| Privas 8,538 · 15.8 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 2.3% | 10% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 16.4 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
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 Fons
What is the population of Fons?
316 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (320).
How old are Fons’ residents?
The median age is 50.7, older than 85% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fons?
31, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fons?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.9% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fons?
€27,220 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.