Gravières is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 58.1
The figure for couples with children is 8.8% in Gravières and 25% in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few households in social housing: 2.7% here, fewer than in 95% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 508 residents in 250 households. The census found that 54% of households are headed by a retired person locally.
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 Gravières
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 200 second homes and occasional dwellings in Gravières, 42% of its 480 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 84% 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 Gravières’ residents are under 58.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 39% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A town of second homes: 42% 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
Here 11% of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 20: 5.1% of homes stand empty.
Gravières grew +17% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 85% 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 +9% and the next six +7%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns: 39%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Gravières 58.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Gravières comes in at 5.2%. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
17% of households are single parents, a share 98% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
The average household has 1.8 people. Set beside that, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. At 45%, the share of one-person households is higher than in 83% of compared French towns.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €23,840 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 Gravières is €23,840 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 73% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 77% of compared French towns: 6%
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
11% of households are headed by a manual worker; in the typical compared French town the figure is 14%. By way of comparison, 9.4% of 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).
Gravières: 8.2% of residents are immigrants, above 62% 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.
On the census count, 5.1% of residents are foreign nationals. 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.
Below 87% of compared French towns: 36% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 31% of residents 15 and over are single in Gravières. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
In Gravières, 26% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 82% 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
Here, 29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification.
Of 41 French towns its size (508 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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.
Of the 6 towns nearest Gravières, 2 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravières | 58.1 | 39% | 42% | 8.2% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 2.3 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 8.6 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 12.3 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| La Grand-Combe 4,783 · 14.2 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1% | 11% |
| Rousson 4,456 · 16.3 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 16.6 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
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 Gravières
What is the population of Gravières?
508 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 17% more than in 2012 (436).
How old are Gravières’ residents?
The median age is 58.1, older than 97% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 39% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Gravières?
200, with occasional dwellings: 42% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Gravières?
INSEE counts 42 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.2% of residents, and 26 foreign nationals (5.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Gravières?
€23,840 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 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.