16% of homes stand empty, more than in 97% of compared French towns
Just over a fifth of households have no car, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing: just over a quarter of the total. The median age in Privas is 48.1, higher than in 75% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 8,538 residents in 4,360 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 Privas
Many people living alone
52% of Privas’ households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 39% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 860 homes empty (16%): 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 +3% change since 2012: slower than 59% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −1%; 2017 to 2023, +3%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Ardèche town +4%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 26%, a higher share than 71% 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
■ Privas 48.1. The median compared French town: 44.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 53% of compared French towns: 11%. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 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.
Privas: 52% of households are one person living alone, above 96% 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
The average household has 1.8 people. Lower than in 90% of compared French towns: 15% of households are couples with children. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Single-parent households: 11% here and 10% in the typical compared French town.
In Privas, 66% of homes are flats, more than in 88% 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
One household in five has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Measured more widely, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. The share of second homes stands at 2.3%.
A typical living standard of €22,810 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.
Half of residents live in households above €22,810 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 83% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 24.0% of residents.
More households headed by a retired person than 77% of compared French towns: 38%
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
Here 7.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 9.4%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%. Census figures put households headed by a manual worker at 11% in Privas.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Privas, 10% of residents are immigrants, more than in 70% 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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 7.2% of residents are foreign nationals here. Elsewhere, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
A higher share of single residents than 88% of compared French towns, at 33%
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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Privas, 36%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 78% of compared French towns, at 25%
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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Privas has 27%. Across the comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 8,450 to 8,622 people: this is the 12th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Varces-Allières-et-Risset (35.8), the youngest, and Le Grau-du-Roi (62.3), the oldest.
1 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Privas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privas | 48.1 | 26% | 2.3% | 10% |
| Chomérac 3,183 · 3.8 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 5.1% | 3.9% |
| Le Pouzin 2,886 · 7.6 mi | 45.6 | 25% | 1.8% | 12% |
| Cruas 2,898 · 9.9 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 4.8% | 6.1% |
| La Voulte-sur-Rhône 4,854 · 10.6 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 1.7% | 10% |
| Loriol-sur-Drôme 6,614 · 10.9 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 1.3% | 9.2% |
| Vals-les-Bains 3,474 · 12.4 mi | 56.1 | 36% | 24% | 5.2% |
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 Privas
What is the population of Privas?
8,538 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (8,312).
How old are Privas’ residents?
The median age is 48.1, older than 75% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Privas?
130, with occasional dwellings: 2.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Privas?
INSEE counts 850 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 620 foreign nationals (7.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Privas?
€22,810 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.