A higher share of households in social housing than 96% of compared French towns, at 36%
Where a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, Soyaux has 20%. At the 2023 Census, 10,087 people lived in the town, in 4,580 households. On the census count, 22% of households have no car. The town has fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 76% of compared French towns, at 6.1%.
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 Soyaux
Social housing
36% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 18% rent privately and 45% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,600 immigrants in Soyaux (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 16% of residents, against 4.8% for the median compared commune in Charente. 11% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Faster growth than 52% of compared French towns: Soyaux changed by +5% since 2012
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 change was −2% from 2012 to 2017 and +8% from 2017 to 2023.
Half of Soyaux is under 42, younger than 66% 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
■ Soyaux 42. The median compared French town: 44.
In Soyaux, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here, more than in 52% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%.
15% of households are single parents, more than in 94% 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 Charente median and the France median
Living alone · share
Here 41% of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. Typically, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.2 people share a household.
Soyaux ranks above 66% of compared French towns on flats: 42%
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 (median compared French town: 11%). Locally, 1.5% of homes are second homes. Few places have so few empty homes: 6.2% here, fewer than in 57% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, flats come to 30%.
The median resident lives on €20,830 a year per consumption unit
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 Soyaux’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,830 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 94% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 31.0%.
More households headed by a manual worker than 66% of compared French towns: 16%
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
The share of households headed by a retired person is 34%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of immigrants than 87% of compared French towns: 16%
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.
Just over one in ten residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). As a yardstick, 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 73% of compared French towns, at 29%
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
Here just over two in five residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Soyaux sits above 85% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (27%)
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
Nearly a quarter of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification (typical compared French town: 30%). The usual figure: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 9,913 to 10,254 people: this is the 19th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Pierrelaye is the youngest (35.2); Mazamet the oldest (51.2).
Nearby, 5 of 6 towns have older populations than Soyaux
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soyaux | 42 | 23% | 1.5% | 16% |
| L'Isle-d'Espagnac 5,682 · 1.3 mi | 49.7 | 30% | 0.9% | 6.3% |
| Angoulême 41,908 · 1.7 mi | 39.9 | 21% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Gond-Pontouvre 5,862 · 2.4 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 1.7% | 5.5% |
| Magnac-sur-Touvre 3,255 · 2.6 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 2% | 3.3% |
| Ruelle-sur-Touvre 7,408 · 2.9 mi | 48.7 | 27% | 1.1% | 4.2% |
| Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente 7,539 · 3.6 mi | 47.5 | 28% | 1.5% | 5.6% |
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 Soyaux
What is the population of Soyaux?
10,087 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (9,570).
How old are Soyaux’s residents?
The median age is 42, younger than 66% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Soyaux?
75, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Soyaux?
INSEE counts 1,600 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 16% of residents, and 1,100 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Soyaux?
€20,830 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 31.0% 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.