Photo: Julien Bertrand · Public domainLa Ricamarie is younger than 90% of compared French towns: a median age of 37.5
21% of households are headed by a manual worker (typical compared French town: 14%). Locally, 66% of homes are flats. La Ricamarie has fewer second homes than 98% of compared French towns, at 0.4%. At the 2023 Census, 8,039 people lived locally, in 3,170 households.
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 Ricamarie
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,800 immigrants in La Ricamarie (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 23% of residents, against 5.8% for the median compared commune in Loire. 20% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of La Ricamarie’s residents are under 37.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are under 15 and 20% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
35% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 16% rent privately and 46% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 500 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+1% since 2012, a pace below 64% 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 ±0%, then +2% to 2023.
Above 92% of compared French towns: 14% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Ricamarie 37.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 20%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of couples with children than 82% of compared French towns, at 32%
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
Against a figure of 35% in the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households in La Ricamarie comes in at 37%. 12% of households are single parents, a higher share than in 79% of compared French towns. Couples with children make up 25% in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.5 people each.
More households in social housing than 96% of compared French towns: 35%
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
Some one in ten households are newcomers of under two years, against 18% who have been there 30 years or more. Set beside that, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Across La Ricamarie, 25% of households have no car. Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 14%, more than in 93% of compared French towns.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €18,380 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.
At €18,380 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 99% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 36.0% of residents are below the poverty line.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 4.2% in La Ricamarie, less than in 92% 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
For La Ricamarie, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 33%. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
23% of residents are immigrants, more than in 95% 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.
The median compared commune in Loire has 5.8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 95% of compared French towns. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. For La Ricamarie, the census puts foreign nationals at 20%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
La Ricamarie ranks above 85% of compared French towns on single residents: 32%
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
47% of residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 94% of compared French towns: 17%
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: 33% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (7,921 to 8,144 people), the 5th 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 33.8 in Linas to 57.1 in Cavalaire-sur-Mer.
La Ricamarie 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 Ricamarie | 37.5 | 20% | 0.4% | 23% |
| Le Chambon-Feugerolles 12,314 · 1.9 mi | 42.8 | 24% | 1.6% | 13% |
| Saint-Étienne 173,136 · 2.6 mi | 37.5 | 21% | 2.4% | 20% |
| Roche-la-Molière 9,843 · 2.9 mi | 47 | 25% | 0.7% | 6.7% |
| Saint-Genest-Lerpt 6,181 · 3.4 mi | 43.2 | 25% | 1.6% | 5.8% |
| Firminy 17,060 · 3.9 mi | 46.1 | 27% | 1.2% | 15% |
| Villars 7,664 · 4.4 mi | 46.6 | 25% | 1.2% | 6.2% |
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 Ricamarie
What is the population of La Ricamarie?
8,039 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (7,931).
How old are La Ricamarie’s residents?
The median age is 37.5, younger than 90% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Ricamarie?
13, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Ricamarie?
INSEE counts 1,840 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 23% of residents, and 1,580 foreign nationals (20%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Ricamarie?
€18,380 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 36.0% 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 9, 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.