In Fontanès, 41% of households are couples with children, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 2.7% of households have no car in Fontanès. Compared with other places, households in social housing are scarce here: 4.6%, fewer than in 88% of compared French towns. There were 270 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 690 residents. About one in eight: that is how common flats are in Fontanès (13%).
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 Fontanès
A town of families
41% of households are couples with children and 3.8% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Fontanès grew +5% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 50% 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
In two steps, +3% to 2017 and +2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +3% in Loire.
Fontanès is younger than 74% of compared French towns: a median age of 40.9
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Fontanès 40.9. The median compared French town: 44.
In Fontanès, 13% of residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 18%.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
3.8% of households are single parents, fewer than in 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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of one-person households is 25%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.6 people share a household. By way of comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
In Fontanès, 5.6% of homes stand empty, fewer than in 66% 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
3.1% of homes are second homes, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A median of €28,170 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.
At €28,170 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 72% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 94% of compared French towns, at 3.8%
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
Households headed by a manual worker: 11% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. Here, 27% of households are headed by a retired person. Measured more widely, 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).
Only 3.1% of residents are immigrants in Fontanès
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Fontanès comes in at 1.6%. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. The median compared commune in Loire has 5.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents: 50%, a higher share than 93% 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 single residents trails 63% of compared French towns: 24%. Across the comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 76% of compared French towns: 14%
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
31% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, or about one in three. On average, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 690 to 2,582 people: this is the 4th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as young as Fontanès
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fontanès | 40.9 | 18% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Saint-Héand 3,665 · 3.2 mi | 47.6 | 26% | 2.4% | 1.9% |
| Sorbiers 8,116 · 3.6 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.2% | 5% |
| La Talaudière 7,133 · 4.5 mi | 48.2 | 29% | 1.5% | 7.6% |
| L'Étrat 2,879 · 4.9 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.5% | 4.3% |
| Saint-Priest-en-Jarez 6,471 · 5.6 mi | 43.5 | 25% | 3.3% | 7.7% |
| Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise 3,785 · 6.1 mi | 47.2 | 29% | 1.7% | 4.6% |
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 Fontanès
What is the population of Fontanès?
690 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (658).
How old are Fontanès’ residents?
The median age is 40.9, younger than 74% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fontanès?
9, with occasional dwellings: 3.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fontanès?
INSEE counts 21 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fontanès?
€28,170 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.