Fournels is older than 96% of compared French towns: a median age of 56.5
In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Fournels, 2.9%. The town had 371 residents in 170 households at the 2023 Census. Households in social housing make up about one in 12 here (8.3%). Higher than in just over four fifths of compared French towns: 44% of households are one person living alone.
Throughout this page, the Lozère 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 Fournels
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Fournels, 36% of its 340 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 86% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Fournels’ residents are under 56.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 41% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 19% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 45 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 96% of compared French towns: 36%
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
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car in Fournels comes in at 8.3%. Locally, 13% of homes stand empty. Flats are rarer here than in 53% of compared French towns. Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
From 2012 to 2023, 73% of compared French towns grew faster than Fournels: −1%
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 change was −2% from 2012 to 2017 and +1% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Lozère town −4%.
41% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% 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
■ Fournels 56.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.2% in Fournels and 11% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Lozère 51.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children: 18%, a lower share than 82% 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 Lozère median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 1.9 people share a household. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. At 8.8%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 69% of compared French towns.
A median standard of living of €23,920 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 €23,920 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 72% of compared French towns.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 47% of households are headed by a retired person
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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 8.8% of households are headed by a manual worker in Fournels. For comparison, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 70% of compared French towns: 4.4%
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.
At 3.8%, the share of foreign nationals is lower than in 54% of compared French towns. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fournels ranks below 74% of compared French towns on married residents: 39%
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
Fewer single residents than in half of compared French towns: 25%. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Fournels ranks above 98% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 34%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%; Fournels has 17%. By way of comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (371 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Fournels
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fournels | 56.5 | 41% | 36% | 4.4% |
| Saint-Chély-d'Apcher 3,955 · 7.6 mi | 47.6 | 27% | 9.6% | 5.6% |
| Saint-Flour 6,391 · 15.3 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 5.3% | 4.7% |
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 Fournels
What is the population of Fournels?
371 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (374).
How old are Fournels’ residents?
The median age is 56.5, older than 96% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 41% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fournels?
120, with occasional dwellings: 36% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fournels?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.4% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (3.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fournels?
€23,920 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.