A median age of 55.6: Joyeuse is older than 95% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Joyeuse has 8.7%. Still, on one-person households, Joyeuse sits higher than just over four fifths of compared French towns: 44%. At the 2023 Census, 1,811 people lived locally, in 910 households. About one in 20: that is how common households in social housing are in Joyeuse (5%).
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 Joyeuse
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 250 second homes and occasional dwellings in Joyeuse, 19% of its 1,340 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 83% 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 Joyeuse’s residents are under 55.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 180 homes empty (14%): 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: 19% 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
By its share of empty homes (14%), Joyeuse is above 93% of compared French towns. Turnover: 16% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 12% have lived in their home 30 years or more. One in ten households have no car, fewer than in 52% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%.
From 2012 to 2023, Joyeuse outgrew 63% of compared French towns: +8%
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: +3% from 2012 to 2017, then +5% to 2023.
In Joyeuse, 6.9% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 97% 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
■ Joyeuse 55.6. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 35%, Joyeuse is ahead of 93% of compared French towns on that count. The wider picture: 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
A lower share of couples with children than 93% of compared French towns, at 14%
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 single-parent households is 10%; Joyeuse has 12%. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. Average household size: 1.9 people.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €23,150 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 €23,150 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 80% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 88% of compared French towns: 42%
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
In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Joyeuse, 6.7%. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals: 5.7%, a higher share than 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.
The median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 53% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up about one in 14 here (6.9%). For comparison, 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.
Joyeuse sits below 81% of compared French towns for married residents (38%)
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 tops three fifths of compared French towns: 27%. The wider picture: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Joyeuse, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 69% 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
Graduates of higher education make up 28%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,811 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Around Joyeuse, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyeuse | 55.6 | 35% | 19% | 6.9% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 7.3 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 10.7 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Aubenas 12,416 · 12.2 mi | 47.9 | 29% | 5.3% | 12% |
| Vals-les-Bains 3,474 · 14.2 mi | 56.1 | 36% | 24% | 5.2% |
| Villeneuve-de-Berg 3,031 · 14.3 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 8% | 5.1% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 14.6 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 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 Joyeuse
What is the population of Joyeuse?
1,811 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (1,678).
How old are Joyeuse’s residents?
The median age is 55.6, older than 95% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Joyeuse?
250, with occasional dwellings: 19% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Joyeuse?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.9% of residents, and 100 foreign nationals (5.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Joyeuse?
€23,150 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.