Second homes make up 31% in Lavieu, more than in 95% of compared French towns
By its share of households headed by a manager or professional (17%), Lavieu is above 81% of compared French towns. Meanwhile, the town has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 5.5%. The 2023 Census counted 117 residents in 54 households. Households without a car: nearly a tenth of the total.
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 Lavieu
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 26 second homes and occasional dwellings in Lavieu, 31% of its 85 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
A town of families
33% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
One home in three in Lavieu is a second home
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
14% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 6.8% moved in within the last two years. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Little separates the share of empty homes here, 6.1%, from the figure in the typical compared French town.
+16% since 2012, a pace 83% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Loire town +3%. The change was +15% from 2012 to 2017 and +1% from 2017 to 2023.
Half of Lavieu is over 48, older than 74% 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
■ Lavieu 48. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 26%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
In Lavieu, 33% of households are couples with children, more than in 88% 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
Households average 2.2 people. Against that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, a third of households are one person living alone in Lavieu.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €26,710 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €26,710 a year: higher than in 58% of compared French towns.
Lavieu: 25% of households are headed by a manual worker, above 96% 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
In Lavieu, 33% of households are headed by a retired person. As a reference point, 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 2.3% in Lavieu, less than in 88% 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.
1.6% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. The median compared commune in Loire has 5.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 88% of compared French towns. 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.
In Lavieu, 21% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 86% 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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, just over two in five residents 15 and over are married here. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
A lower share of adults with no qualification than 91% of compared French towns, at 11%
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 figure for graduates of higher education is 38% in Lavieu and 30% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Median age: 1 of the 6 towns around Lavieu are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lavieu | 48 | 26% | 31% | 2.3% |
| Saint-Romain-le-Puy 4,142 · 4.4 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 1.2% | 2.3% |
| Montbrison 16,123 · 4.9 mi | 44.6 | 25% | 2.8% | 6.4% |
| Savigneux 3,509 · 5.6 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Marcellin-en-Forez 5,116 · 7 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 2.7% | 1.8% |
| Sury-le-Comtal 6,621 · 7.2 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 1.6% | 10% |
| Bonson 4,557 · 8.8 mi | 41.5 | 23% | 1% | 5.8% |
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 Lavieu
What is the population of Lavieu?
117 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% more than in 2012 (101).
How old are Lavieu’s residents?
The median age is 48, older than 74% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lavieu?
26, with occasional dwellings: 31% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lavieu?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Lavieu?
€26,710 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.