Photo: Yzergues · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of couples with children than 94% of compared French towns: 36%
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 1.9% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Alixan. The census found that 10% of homes are flats here. The median age locally is 39.7, lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. There were 1,090 households here at the 2023 Census, home to 2,729 residents.
Throughout this page, the Drôme 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 Alixan
A town of families
36% of households are couples with children and 5.1% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Growth of +11% since 2012 puts Alixan ahead of 73% 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 +2%; 2017 to 2023, +9%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Drôme town +8%.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 90% of compared French towns: 15%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Alixan 39.7. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Alixan, 10%. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
25% of households are one person living alone, below 95% 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 Drôme median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of single-parent households is 5.1%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 2.5 people. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%.
A lower share of households without a car than 95% of compared French towns, at 3.9%
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
Some 11% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 20% who have been there 30 years or more. Fewer empty homes than in 64% of compared French towns: 5.7%. Put another way, about one in 45: 2.2% of homes are second homes.
A median of €27,290 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 Alixan’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €27,290 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 64% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 9.0%.
Only 26% of households are headed by a retired person in Alixan
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
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Alixan comes in at 16%. This Drôme town has more households headed by a manager or professional than two thirds of compared French towns, at 13%. Elsewhere, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
3.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 77% 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.
Foreign nationals make up 1.9%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 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.
Single residents make up 20% in Alixan, less than in 92% of compared French towns
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
With married residents at 48%, Alixan is ahead of 82% of compared French towns on that count. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 89% of compared French towns: 12%
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
The share of graduates of higher education tops 78% of compared French towns: 39%. Against that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
5th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 2,698 to 2,762
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 Trieux (37.7), the oldest Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie (61.9).
No nearby town is as young as Alixan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alixan | 39.7 | 15% | 2.2% | 3.6% |
| Montélier 4,323 · 3 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 0.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence 6,176 · 3 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 0.9% | 7.3% |
| Châteauneuf-sur-Isère 4,281 · 3.8 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 6% | 3.3% |
| Bourg-de-Péage 9,921 · 4.1 mi | 46.4 | 25% | 0.7% | 8.3% |
| Chatuzange-le-Goubet 6,523 · 4.2 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 1.8% | 3.2% |
| Romans-sur-Isère 33,464 · 5 mi | 45 | 25% | 1.8% | 13% |
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 Alixan
What is the population of Alixan?
2,729 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (2,452).
How old are Alixan’s residents?
The median age is 39.7, younger than 81% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Alixan?
26, with occasional dwellings: 2.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Alixan?
INSEE counts 97 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 51 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Alixan?
€27,290 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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.