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 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.
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.
All homes · share of homes
Type of home
Cars per household · share of households
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.
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.
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: +4% from 2012 to 2017, then −1% to 2023.
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
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ 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
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
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.
Against the Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
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.
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.
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.
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
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).
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”.
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 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.
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
Married residents make up 45%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
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
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%.
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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
No nearby town is as old as Lyas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyas | 51.1 | 28% | 11% | 3.4% |
| Privas 8,538 · 1.4 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 2.3% | 10% |
| Chomérac 3,183 · 4.9 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 5.1% | 3.9% |
| Le Pouzin 2,886 · 7.9 mi | 45.6 | 25% | 1.8% | 12% |
| La Voulte-sur-Rhône 4,854 · 10.4 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 1.7% | 10% |
| Cruas 2,898 · 11 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 4.8% | 6.1% |
| Loriol-sur-Drôme 6,614 · 11.3 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 1.3% | 9.2% |
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 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.