Photo: Institut géographique national (IGN), BD-ORTHO · Public domainHalf of Gières is under 36, younger than 94% of compared French towns
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 20% in Gières. Across Gières, just over a fifth of households have no car. The town has more flats than 92% of compared French towns, at 74%. The 2023 Census counted 7,376 residents in 3,790 households.
Throughout this page, the Isère 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 Gières
A young town
Half of Gières’ residents are under 36 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 17% are under 15 and 16% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Many graduates
53% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 28% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Gières’ households are one person: higher than in 92% of compared French towns; 35% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Growing fast
Gières had 6,200 residents at the 2012 census and 7,376 in 2023, up 19%: faster growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Gières outgrew 89% of compared French towns: +19%
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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Isère town +7%. The first five years brought +9%; the six to 2023, +9%.
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 98% of compared French towns: 19%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Gières 36. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 16%, Gières is behind 89% of compared French towns on that count. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Gières: 49% of households are one person living alone, above 92% 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 Isère median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2 people in the average household. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Lower than in nearly three quarters of compared French towns: 20% of households are couples with children. At 9.2%, single-parent households sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
In Gières, 4.9% of homes stand empty, fewer than in 76% 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
Here 3.9% of homes are second homes, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Just over one in ten households have been in place 30 years or more; 18% moved in within the last two years.
A median standard of living of €28,950 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 €28,950 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 78% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 12.0% of the population.
25% of households are headed by a manager or professional, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
6.5% of households are headed by a manual worker; in the typical compared French town the figure is 14%. Across the comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More immigrants than 76% of compared French towns: 11%
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.
Nearly one in ten residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Gières: 37% of residents 15 and over are single, above 95% 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
The share of married residents is 33%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
53% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, a share 95% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 adults with no qualification trails 90% of compared French towns: 12%. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 7,292 to 7,454 people
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 Gières (36), the youngest, and Perros-Guirec (62.4), the oldest.
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Gières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gières | 36 | 16% | 3.9% | 11% |
| Saint-Martin-d'Hères 37,695 · 1.5 mi | 29.9 | 13% | 1.3% | 22% |
| Meylan 18,770 · 2.1 mi | 45.7 | 27% | 3.3% | 9.5% |
| La Tronche 6,424 · 2.6 mi | 34.9 | 19% | 3.4% | 11% |
| Domène 6,835 · 2.7 mi | 42.8 | 22% | 1.3% | 9% |
| Corenc 4,215 · 2.7 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 2.4% | 7.2% |
| Eybens 10,493 · 2.9 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 1.4% | 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 Gières
What is the population of Gières?
7,376 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% more than in 2012 (6,200).
How old are Gières’ residents?
The median age is 36, younger than 94% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Gières?
160, with occasional dwellings: 3.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Gières?
INSEE counts 830 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 640 foreign nationals (8.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Gières?
€28,950 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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 9, 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.