A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 6.2%
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 2.8% in La Gresle. At the 2023 Census La Gresle was home to 857 people in 350 households. The census found that 5.4% of households are single parents here. Lower than in 98% of compared French towns: 3.3% of households have no car.
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 La Gresle
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 60 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Gresle, 13% of its 450 homes: higher than in 90% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
1.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 98% 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
The share of empty homes is 8.4%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Across La Gresle, 4.4% of homes are flats. At 13%, the share of second homes is higher than in 90% of compared French towns. Typically, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
La Gresle grew +7% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 58% 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%.
24% of residents are 65 or over, more 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
■ La Gresle 44.2. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 44.2, La Gresle is older than just over half of compared French towns. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 31%, a higher share than 81% 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
Here 29% of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. There are 2.3 people in the average household.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,740 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.
Living standards centre on €24,740 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a manual worker than 95% of compared French towns: 25%
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
36% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. Against that, 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).
In La Gresle, 2.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 89% 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 1.5% in La Gresle. Across the comparison, 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 17% of residents 15 and over are single in La Gresle
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
Married residents make up 49%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Below 62% of compared French towns: 27% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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 are more common here than in 55% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 857 to 2,582 people, the 16th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
La Gresle is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Gresle | 44.2 | 24% | 13% | 2.3% |
| Thizy-les-Bourgs 5,771 · 3 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Cours 4,306 · 3 mi | 51.1 | 31% | 5.8% | 4.7% |
| Amplepuis 4,876 · 7.4 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
| Charlieu 3,766 · 8 mi | 50.4 | 32% | 7.2% | 4.1% |
| Pouilly-sous-Charlieu 2,588 · 9.2 mi | 49.2 | 28% | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Chauffailles 3,638 · 9.6 mi | 58.1 | 39% | 6.3% | 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 La Gresle
What is the population of La Gresle?
857 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (803).
How old are La Gresle’s residents?
The median age is 44.2, older than 51% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Gresle?
60, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Gresle?
INSEE counts 20 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Gresle?
€24,740 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 October 30, 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.