A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.5%
Where 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, Merlas has 6.9%. The town had 465 residents in 210 households at the 2023 Census. About one in 14: that is how common single-parent households are in Merlas (7%). On households headed by a retired person, Merlas sits higher than just over four fifths of compared French towns: 39%.
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 Merlas
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 42 second homes and occasional dwellings in Merlas, 15% of its 280 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Merlas had 496 residents at the 2012 census and 465 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 91% of compared French towns, at 15%
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
A quarter of households have been in place 30 years or more; 9.8% moved in within the last two years. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households without a car are rarer here than in 85% of compared French towns. The share of empty homes tops 72% of compared French towns: 9%.
Slower than most: −6% since 2012, behind 91% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Isère town +7%.
A median age of 48.1: Merlas is older than 75% 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
■ Merlas 48.1. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 22%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 30%, a lower share than 75% 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
Average household size: 2.2 people. Couples with children are rarer here than in 56% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €26,510 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.
At €26,510 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 56% of compared French towns.
9.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 53% of compared French towns
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
Put another way, about one in seven: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker. The share of households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 81% of compared French towns: 3.1%
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.
2.7% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Isère has 8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 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.
Only 19% of residents 15 and over are single in Merlas
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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, just over two in five residents 15 and over are married in Merlas. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 55% of compared French towns: 20%
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
Census figures put graduates of higher education at 31% in Merlas. The usual figure: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Merlas is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merlas | 48.1 | 22% | 15% | 3.1% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Crossey 2,619 · 4.5 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| Saint-Laurent-du-Pont 4,490 · 4.8 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 3% | 5.9% |
| Chirens 2,546 · 5.5 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 2.9% | 5.8% |
| Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin 3,602 · 6.3 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 2.4% | 8% |
| Voiron 21,847 · 6.5 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 1.5% | 11% |
| Coublevie 5,520 · 6.5 mi | 46.2 | 23% | 1.3% | 5.9% |
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 Merlas
What is the population of Merlas?
465 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (496).
How old are Merlas’ residents?
The median age is 48.1, older than 75% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Merlas?
42, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Merlas?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Merlas?
€26,510 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.