A higher share of couples with children than 99% of compared French towns, at 40%
3.3% of households rent social housing (HLM); in the typical compared French town the figure is 12%. On households headed by a retired person, Grenay sits lower than 87% of compared French towns: 24%. This Isère town had 1,628 residents in 630 households at the 2023 census. Locally, 16% of residents are 65 or over.
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 Grenay
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 7.1% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Faster growth than 57% of compared French towns: Grenay changed by +6% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +7% in Isère.
Younger than 79% of compared French towns: half of Grenay is under 40
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Grenay 40. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24, or about one in nine.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 95% of compared French towns: 25%
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
In Grenay, 7.1% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2.5 people.
2.5% of households have no car, below 99% 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
Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, 5.7% of homes stand empty in Grenay. Fewer flats than in 83% of compared French towns: 12%. For comparison, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town. Turnover: 7.1% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 19% have lived in their home 30 years or more.
Half above, half below €32,710 a year in standard of living
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.
Living standards centre on €32,710 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 93% of compared French towns.
Grenay ranks above 74% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 14%
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
For Grenay, the census puts households headed by a manual worker at 13%. As a reference point, 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).
A smaller share of foreign nationals than 67% of compared French towns: 2.9%
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 Isère has 8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 63% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Immigrants account for 5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Grenay, 49% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 88% 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 make up 23%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
More graduates of higher education than 69% of compared French towns: 36%
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
In Grenay, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,628 to 2,582 people), the 3rd 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Grenay and its 6 nearest towns: 4 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grenay | 40 | 16% | 1.6% | 5% |
| Saint-Laurent-de-Mure 5,791 · 2 mi | 42.5 | 21% | 1.2% | 8.3% |
| Heyrieux 4,956 · 2.5 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 1.4% | 5% |
| Satolas-et-Bonce 2,532 · 2.8 mi | 39.7 | 14% | 1% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Quentin-Fallavier 6,189 · 2.9 mi | 38.4 | 17% | 1.1% | 11% |
| Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure 6,984 · 3.2 mi | 44.2 | 19% | 0.7% | 5.4% |
| Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu 4,616 · 3.6 mi | 44.7 | 19% | 1.3% | 4.8% |
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 Grenay
What is the population of Grenay?
1,628 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (1,530).
How old are Grenay’s residents?
The median age is 40, younger than 79% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Grenay?
11, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Grenay?
INSEE counts 82 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5% of residents, and 47 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Grenay?
€32,710 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.