A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 95% of compared French towns, at 24%
Flats: 21%, below 66% of compared French towns. Balbigny is home to 2,911 residents in 1,240 households, by the 2023 Census. The census found that 8% of households are single parents in the town. On residents aged 65 and over, Balbigny sits higher than 71% of compared French towns: 26%.
Throughout this page, the Loire 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 Balbigny
Empty homes
The census found 170 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: ±0% since 2012, behind 68% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Loire town +3%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought +2%; 2017 to 2023, −2%.
Older than 66% of compared French towns: half of Balbigny is over 46.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Balbigny 46.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, above 72% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children: 28%, a higher share than 64% 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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
One-person households: 33%, below 62% of compared French towns. Average household size: 2.2 people. Measured more widely, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of empty homes than 86% of compared French towns: 12%
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
By its share of second homes (3.1%), Balbigny is above 63% of compared French towns. Few places have so few households in social housing: 9.1% here, fewer than in 65% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes is 6.7%. Newcomers of less than two years account for one in ten households, residents of 30 years or more for 17%.
A median of €23,250 a year per consumption unit
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 €23,250 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 79% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 15.0%.
Balbigny: 33% of households are headed by a retired person, above 54% 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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional stands at 9.1%. As a reference point, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.6% of Balbigny’s residents are immigrants
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.
On immigrants, Balbigny sits lower than 58% of compared French towns: 5.6%. The share of foreign nationals stands at 3.4%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Balbigny sits above 60% of compared French towns for married residents (44%)
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
Balbigny has fewer single residents than 52% of compared French towns, at 25%. Across the comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 87% 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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 84% of compared French towns: 27%. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 2,884 to 2,938 people, the 19th 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 Avord (32.5), the youngest, and Batz-sur-Mer (60.3), the oldest.
Nearby, 5 of 6 towns have older populations than Balbigny
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balbigny | 46.4 | 26% | 3.1% | 5.6% |
| Feurs 8,367 · 5.6 mi | 50.7 | 32% | 2% | 6.7% |
| Panissières 2,911 · 7.4 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 7.2% | 3% |
| Boën-sur-Lignon 3,001 · 10.2 mi | 55.3 | 35% | 2.3% | 3.6% |
| Montrond-les-Bains 5,652 · 12.5 mi | 48.3 | 29% | 1.7% | 4.4% |
| Amplepuis 4,876 · 12.5 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
| Tarare 10,893 · 12.9 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1.1% | 14% |
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 Balbigny
What is the population of Balbigny?
2,911 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (2,897).
How old are Balbigny’s residents?
The median age is 46.4, older than 66% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Balbigny?
45, with occasional dwellings: 3.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Balbigny?
INSEE counts 160 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.6% of residents, and 99 foreign nationals (3.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Balbigny?
€23,250 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 15.0% 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 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.