Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 777 in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Lay is too small to grade: French towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents.
Lay has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé).
The oldest protected part dates from the 19th century; the first monument here was protected in 1991.
25% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Jenny Berger-Désoras, born in 1779, is the one person born in Lay before 1900 that Wikidata records.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Lay.
Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population. People 65 and over make up just over a quarter of the town, about level with Loire’s towns (25%) and above compared French towns (22%). Lay has a median age of 45.8 years.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Lay | Loire median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 22% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 26% | 25% | 22% |
| No diploma | 22% | 20% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 29% | 29% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 27% | 28% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Loire median and France median: the median of compared communes
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Lay has 1 historic monument on the Culture ministry’s list, none at the highest level (classé). Its heritage reaches back to the 19th century.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Unemployment stood at 7.9%, lower than both Loire’s towns (8.6%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Nearly one in ten commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport. At the census, 5.7% of working residents in Lay didn’t travel to work at all.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The nearest general lycée is 6.3 mi away. Collège pupils travel 2.3 mi to the nearest one.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Nicolas ContéNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 85 | 89%−3 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
House rents are put at about €8.17/m² a month. From July 2023 to June 2026, 17 homes were sold in Lay.
Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Heritage in and near Lay. Best known first.
Lay has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
One notable person was born in Lay.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lay | 777 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Amplepuis Rhône | 4,876 | 5.1 | A− | A | C | B− |
| Thizy-les-Bourgs Rhône | 5,771 | 7.1 | A− | A+ | C+ | B |
| Le Coteau | 6,845 | 8.2 | A | A− | B− | B+ |
| Commelle-Vernay | 3,050 | 8.5 | A+ | A− | A+ | A− |
| Roanne | 35,409 | 9.5 | B+ | A | D | B+ |
| Villerest | 5,172 | 9.5 | A+ | B+ | A | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Commune in Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Lay is a commune of 777 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays entre Loire et Rhône. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, 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.