Households without a car make up 2.6% in Fourneaux, less than in 99% of compared French towns
With flats at 5.7%, Fourneaux is behind 94% of compared French towns on that count. On the census count, 3.4% of households rent social housing (HLM). The median age in the town is 48.5, higher than in 77% of compared French towns. The town counted 563 residents and 250 households at the 2023 Census.
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 Fourneaux
Fewer residents than in 2012
Fourneaux had 630 residents at the 2012 census and 563 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 37 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.
A change of −11% since 2012 leaves Fourneaux behind 98% 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 those years, the median Loire town changed +3% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −7%, then −4% to 2023.
21% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 61% 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
■ Fourneaux 48.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Put another way, about one in nine: just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
In Fourneaux, 3.9% 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
22% of households are couples with children, against 25% in the median compared French town; 3.9% are single parents with their children (10%). Lower than in 82% of compared French towns: 29% of households are one person living alone. On average, 2.2 people share a household.
Above 86% of compared French towns: 8.6% of homes are second homes
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
Here 12% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. Newcomers of less than two years account for 7.4% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 26%. Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
The median resident lives on €25,920 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.
Half of Fourneaux’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €25,920 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 51% of compared French towns.
In Fourneaux, 18% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 76% 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 figure for households headed by a retired person is 34% in Fourneaux and 32% in the typical compared French town. 9.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 52% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 3.1% in Fourneaux, less than in 81% of compared French towns
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 1.8% in Fourneaux. On average, 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.
Married residents: 51%, a higher share than 95% 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 figure for single residents is 20% in Fourneaux and 25% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 77% 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
Adults with no qualification: 22% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
15th highest median age among 41 French towns of 563 to 2,582
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.
Fourneaux is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fourneaux | 48.5 | 21% | 8.6% | 3.1% |
| Amplepuis 4,876 · 3.6 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
| Thizy-les-Bourgs 5,771 · 7.1 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Tarare 10,893 · 8.5 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1.1% | 14% |
| Balbigny 2,911 · 9.2 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 3.1% | 5.6% |
| Le Coteau 6,845 · 10.6 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 1.6% | 6.8% |
| Panissières 2,911 · 10.8 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 7.2% | 3% |
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 Fourneaux
What is the population of Fourneaux?
563 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (630).
How old are Fourneaux’s residents?
The median age is 48.5, older than 77% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fourneaux?
27, with occasional dwellings: 8.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fourneaux?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fourneaux?
€25,920 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.