A median age of 54.6: Ponsonnas is older than 93% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 288 residents in 130 households: that is Ponsonnas at the 2023 Census. Locally, 3.1% of households have no car. Empty homes: 0.7% here and 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
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 Ponsonnas
An older town
Half of Ponsonnas’ residents are under 54.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 2.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Ponsonnas grew +7% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 59% 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 +7% for the median Isère town, the change came in two steps: +8% from 2012 to 2017, then −1% to 2023.
28% of residents are 65 or over, a share 80% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ponsonnas 54.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
3.8% of households are single parents, below 99% 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
The share of one-person households is 27%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. There are 2.2 people in the average household. Couples with children are rarer here than in 60% of compared French towns.
Fewer flats than 95% of compared French towns: 5.5%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%; Ponsonnas has 9.7%. Households that moved in under two years ago: 6.2%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 24%.
Standard of living at the median: €31,280 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €31,280 a year: higher than in 89% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 94% of compared French towns: 46%
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
The figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 3.9% in Ponsonnas and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%. 15% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in seven.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 1.7% of residents are immigrants in Ponsonnas
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 94% of compared French towns. Foreign nationals account for 0.7%. 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.
55% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 99% 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 single residents at 17%, Ponsonnas is behind 99% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
11% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 93% 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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Ponsonnas comes in at 38%. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
Ranked by age, 7th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Ponsonnas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponsonnas | 54.6 | 28% | 9.7% | 1.7% |
| La Mure 4,963 · 1 mi | 49.5 | 30% | 5.1% | 8.2% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Commiers 2,699 · 11 mi | 43 | 21% | 1.5% | 4% |
| Vif 8,530 · 12.6 mi | 44.2 | 20% | 1.5% | 5.1% |
| Vizille 7,292 · 12.8 mi | 44 | 23% | 2.4% | 8% |
| Champ-sur-Drac 3,335 · 13.3 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 1.2% | 6.1% |
| Jarrie 3,952 · 15 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 1.3% | 4% |
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 Ponsonnas
What is the population of Ponsonnas?
288 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (269).
How old are Ponsonnas’ residents?
The median age is 54.6, older than 93% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ponsonnas?
14, with occasional dwellings: 9.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ponsonnas?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ponsonnas?
€31,280 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.