Households without a car make up 2.9% in Lay, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 12% in the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing in Lay comes in at 1.3%. A third of households are couples with children, a higher share than in 86% of compared French towns. The town’s 290 households held 777 residents at the 2023 Census. Locally, 5.7% of homes are second homes.
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.
A +8% change since 2012: faster than 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
The first five years brought +4%; the six to 2023, +4%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Loire town +3%.
Lay ranks above 72% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 26%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Lay 45.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Lay is 45.8, higher than in 62% of compared French towns. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 84% of compared French towns: 28%
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
Average household size: 2.4 people. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 77% of compared French towns.
8.6% of homes are flats, fewer than in 89% 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
22% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 9.9% moved in within the last two years. Lay has more empty homes than 63% of compared French towns, at 7.9%.
Median standard of living: €26,450 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 €26,450 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 55% of compared French towns.
18% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 77% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person. More households headed by a manager or professional than in 53% of compared French towns: 9.8%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 2.9% of residents are immigrants in Lay
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 share of foreign nationals trails 83% of compared French towns: 1.8%. As a reference point, 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.
Single residents: 24%, a lower share than 65% 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
Here, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Lay ranks above 66% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 22%
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 27% in Lay and 30% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 777 to 2,582 people: this is the 20th oldest
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.
Of the 6 towns nearest Lay, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lay | 45.8 | 26% | 5.7% | 2.9% |
| Amplepuis 4,876 · 5.1 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
| Thizy-les-Bourgs 5,771 · 7.1 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Le Coteau 6,845 · 8.2 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 1.6% | 6.8% |
| Commelle-Vernay 3,050 · 8.5 mi | 49 | 27% | 1% | 3.5% |
| Roanne 35,409 · 9.5 mi | 45 | 27% | 3.1% | 14% |
| Villerest 5,172 · 9.5 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 1.9% | 6.1% |
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 Lay
What is the population of Lay?
777 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (718).
How old are Lay’s residents?
The median age is 45.8, older than 62% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lay?
19, with occasional dwellings: 5.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lay?
INSEE counts 22 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Lay?
€26,450 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.