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51.1median age
Who lives here · INSEE, census 2023

Lyas is older than 86% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.1

Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Lyas’s 290 households held 592 residents at the 2023 Census. In Lyas, 10% of homes stand empty. With single-parent households at 6.9%, Lyas is behind 90% of compared French towns on that count.

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 · In brief

What stands out about the people of Lyas

One home in nine is a second home

The census counted 39 second homes and occasional dwellings in Lyas, 11% of its 360 homes: higher than in 88% 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 Lyas’ residents are under 51.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8% 80 or older. Ages ↓

Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.

Homes & cars

A town of second homes: 11% 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.

39second homes and occasional dwellings, 11% of Lyas’ 360 homes

All homes · share of homes

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
Main residences79%
Second homes11%
Empty10%
0%50%100%

Type of home

Lyas
Ardèche median
France median
HousesFlats

Cars per household · share of households

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
No car7.9%
One car42%
Two or more50%
0%30%60%

Turnover: 6.6% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 27% have lived in their home 30 years or more. For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Lower than in 72% of compared French towns: 18% of homes are flats. Add to that, by its share of households without a car (7.9%), Lyas is below two thirds of compared French towns.

Population

From 2012 to 2023, 59% of compared French towns grew faster than Lyas: +3%

Residents at INSEE’s last three censuses, each recast in the 2026 commune boundaries. France has no yearly estimate by commune between censuses.

Census 2012
577
residents
Census 2017
601
residents
Census 2023
592
residents
in today’s commune boundaries

2012 to 2023

Lyas+3%
Ardèche median+4%
France median+5%

2017 to 2023

Lyas−1%
Ardèche median+2%
France median+2%

Against +5% for the median compared French town and +4% for the median Ardèche town, the change came in two steps: +4% from 2012 to 2017, then −1% to 2023.

Ages

Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of compared French towns: 7.9%

Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.

Age groups · share of residents

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
Under 1514%
15 to 247.9%
25 to 4420%
45 to 6430%
65 and over28%
of whom 80 and over8%
0%20%40%

Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns

2535455565

■ Lyas 51.1. The median compared French town: 44.

Residents aged 65 and over make up 28%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Lyas
Ardèche median
France median
WomenMen

About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.

Households

Below 56% of compared French towns: 34% of households are one person living alone

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.

One person 34%Couple, no children 34%Couple with children 25%Single parent 6.9%Several people, not a family 0%

Against the Ardèche median and the France median

Lyas
Ardèche median
France median
One personCouple, no childrenCouple with childrenSingle parentSeveral people, not a family

Living alone · share

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
One-person households34%
Residents 65+ living alone27%
0%25%50%

There are 2.1 people in the average household. On couples with children, Lyas sits lower than 53% of compared French towns: 25%. As a reference point, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.

Income

Median standard of living: €27,740 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.

Median standard of living
€27,740
a year, per consumption unit (2023)
Medians: Ardèche €22,735 · France €25,970

Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.

The midpoint of living standards here is €27,740 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 68% of compared French towns.

Households by occupation

A lower share of households headed by a retired person than 68% of compared French towns, at 29%

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

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
Retired29%
Managers and professionals12%
Intermediate occupations12%
Clerical and service workers16%
Manual workers14%
Craftspeople, shopkeepers, business owners6.9%
Farmers1.7%
Others not working8.5%
0%20%40%
Unemployment rate
11.7%
of economically active residents 15 to 64 (census 2023)
Median of compared communes: 10.1%
Working residents
240
aged 15 or older

By its share of households headed by a manager or professional (12%), Lyas is above 64% of compared French towns. On average, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. The census found that 14% of households are headed by a manual worker locally.

Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).

Immigrants and foreign nationals

A smaller share of immigrants than 78% of compared French towns: 3.4%

INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.

Immigrants
20
3.4% of residents
Median of compared communes: 6.5%
Foreign nationals
14
2.4% of residents
Median of compared communes: 4.3%

Share of residents · census 2023

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
Immigrants3.4%
Foreign nationals2.4%
0%10%20%

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 lower than in 78% of compared French towns. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%. Census figures put foreign nationals at 2.4% in Lyas.

INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.

Couples

Lyas sits below 72% of compared French towns for single residents (23%)

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

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
Married45%
In a civil partnership (PACS)10%
Living together, unmarried10%
Single23%
Divorced6.8%
Widowed4.8%
0%30%60%

Married residents make up 45%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.

Qualifications

12% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 86% 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

LyasArdèche medianFrance median
No diploma (or primary certificate)12%
Brevet5.4%
CAP or BEP (vocational)22%
Baccalauréat22%
Bac+215%
Bac+3 or bac+413%
Bac+5 or more10%
0%15%30%

Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Lyas comes in at 38%. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.

Towns its size

Of 41 French towns its size (592 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.

Lyas 51.1
VillejustPrayssacNoyen-sur-Sarthe
365064

Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.

Neighbors

No nearby town is as old as Lyas

The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.

PrivasChoméracLe PouzinLa Voulte-sur-RhôneCruasLoriol-sur-DrômeLyas
Under 3838–4444–5050–5656+
TownMedian age65+Second homesImmigrants
Lyas51.128%11%3.4%
Privas
8,538 · 1.4 mi
48.126%2.3%10%
Chomérac
3,183 · 4.9 mi
48.126%5.1%3.9%
Le Pouzin
2,886 · 7.9 mi
45.625%1.8%12%
La Voulte-sur-Rhône
4,854 · 10.4 mi
46.626%1.7%10%
Cruas
2,898 · 11 mi
42.920%4.8%6.1%
Loriol-sur-Drôme
6,614 · 11.3 mi
42.922%1.3%9.2%
More about Lyas

Health, work, housing and schools

How to read these numbers

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 Lyas

What is the population of Lyas?

592 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (577).

How old are Lyas’ residents?

The median age is 51.1, older than 86% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.

How many second homes are there in Lyas?

39, with occasional dwellings: 11% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.

How many immigrants live in Lyas?

INSEE counts 20 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (2.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.

What is the median income in Lyas?

€27,740 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.