Only 2.1% of homes are flats in Soyans
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Soyans, 3.5%. Lower than in 95% of compared French towns: 5.7% of households are headed by a manual worker. This Drôme town is home to 405 residents in 170 households, by the 2023 Census. For Soyans, the census puts households in social housing at 4.7%.
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 Soyans
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 59 second homes and occasional dwellings in Soyans, 24% of its 240 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
A town of families
34% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Soyans had 344 residents at the 2012 census and 405 in 2023, up 18%: faster growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Soyans sits above 94% of compared French towns for second homes (24%)
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
Newcomers of less than two years account for 6.4% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 23%. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Fewer empty homes than in just over four fifths of compared French towns: 4.6%.
Growth of +18% since 2012 puts Soyans ahead of 87% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +8% for the median Drôme town, the change came in two steps: +13% from 2012 to 2017, then +4% to 2023.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 61% of compared French towns: 10%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Soyans 43.7. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 43.7, Soyans is younger than 52% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 65 and over come to 22% in the town, about two in ten.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of couples with children than 91% of compared French towns, at 34%
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
With one-person households at 29%, Soyans is behind 83% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%. The share of single-parent households stands at 11%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,580 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 Soyans’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,580 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 65% of compared French towns.
Soyans ranks above 82% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 17%
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
On the census count, 31% of households are headed by a retired person. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
3.2% of residents are immigrants, below 80% 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.
The median compared commune in Drôme has 6.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in four fifths of compared French towns. Across Soyans, 2.7% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
51% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 94% 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
Single residents: 22%, below three quarters of compared French towns. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 43%, a higher share than 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
Where 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Soyans has 13%. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (405 to 2,582 people), the 15th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Soyans sits below 4 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soyans | 43.7 | 22% | 24% | 3.2% |
| Aouste-sur-Sye 2,733 · 5.8 mi | 46 | 24% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Crest 8,658 · 6.4 mi | 46.7 | 28% | 3.9% | 6.5% |
| Dieulefit 3,289 · 8 mi | 58 | 39% | 18% | 7.2% |
| Allex 2,698 · 10.3 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 3.4% | 2% |
| Montboucher-sur-Jabron 2,592 · 12 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Cruas 2,898 · 12.6 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 4.8% | 6.1% |
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 Soyans
What is the population of Soyans?
405 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% more than in 2012 (344).
How old are Soyans’ residents?
The median age is 43.7, younger than 52% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Soyans?
59, with occasional dwellings: 24% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Soyans?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Soyans?
€24,580 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.