66% of homes are second homes, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 1.4% of households rent social housing (HLM) in La Malène. Flats make up about one in 26 here (3.9%). Nearly a quarter of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 89% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 130 residents and 69 households here.
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 La Malène
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 130 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Malène, 66% of its 200 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 99% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Malène had 158 residents at the 2012 census and 130 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of La Malène’s residents are under 52 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
5.8% of households have no car, below 82% 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
Empty homes are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of households without a car in the typical compared French town is 11%. In the last two years, 8.7% of households moved in; at the other end, 35% have stayed 30 years or more.
−18% since 2012, a pace below 99% 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 the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Lozère town −4%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was −13%; from 2017 to 2023, −6%.
A median age of 52: La Malène is older than 89% 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
■ La Malène 52. The median compared French town: 44.
28% of La Malène’s residents are 65 or older, against 29% in the median Lozère town and 22% in the median compared French town; 15% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Lozère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
15% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 90% 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
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The census found that 38% of households are one person living alone in La Malène. As a yardstick, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. The typical household size is 1.9 people.
A median standard of living of €22,170 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.
Half of La Malène’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,170 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 88% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 59% of compared French towns, at 15%
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns, at 0.8%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 0.8% in La Malène. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of married residents than 80% of compared French towns: 38%
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
Single residents: 29%, above just over three quarters of compared French towns. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Below 72% of compared French towns: 24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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 make up 17%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 130 to 2,582 people, the 9th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than La Malène
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Malène | 52 | 28% | 66% | 0.8% |
| Sévérac d'Aveyron 4,026 · 13.8 mi | 51.1 | 30% | 20% | 4.1% |
| Mende 12,464 · 17.3 mi | 42.6 | 21% | 6.6% | 13% |
| Marvejols 4,764 · 17.3 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 11% | 9.7% |
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 La Malène
What is the population of La Malène?
130 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (158).
How old are La Malène’s residents?
The median age is 52, older than 89% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Malène?
130, with occasional dwellings: 66% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Malène?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.8% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Malène?
€22,170 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 8, 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.