A smaller share of one-person households than 97% of compared French towns: 23%
The share of households headed by a manager or professional tops 91% of compared French towns: 22%. Few places have so few households without a car: 3.8% here, fewer than in 95% of compared French towns. Communay had 4,540 residents in 1,830 households at the 2023 census. Locally, 3.9% of homes stand empty.
Throughout this page, the Rhône 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.
Communay grew +11% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 73% 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 change was +3% from 2012 to 2017 and +8% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Rhône town +10%.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 65% of compared French towns, at 20%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Communay 43.5. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. With a median age of 43.5, Communay is younger than 54% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
Communay: 32% of households are couples with children, above 86% 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 Rhône median and the France median
Living alone · share
In Communay, 11% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. There are 2.5 people in the average household.
A smaller share of flats than 69% of compared French towns: 19%
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
Second homes make up 0.9%, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Flats make up 30% in the typical compared French town. About one in seven: that is how common households in social housing are in Communay (14%).
Standard of living at the median: €31,860 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €31,860 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 91% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 8.0% of residents are below the line.
Households headed by a retired person: 29%, a lower share than 70% 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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 11% in Communay. Measured more widely, 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).
A lower share of foreign nationals than 64% of compared French towns, at 3%
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.
In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants; in Communay, 5.5%. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 59% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Rhône has 8.2%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Communay, 53% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 98% 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
Single residents: 22% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Below 86% of compared French towns: 12% of adults out of school have no 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
Just over two fifths of Communay’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 12% have no diploma (19%).
41 French towns of 4,496 to 4,581 people: this is the 17th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Jacob-Bellecombette is the youngest (36.6); Leucate the oldest (63).
Every neighbor is younger than Communay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communay | 43.5 | 20% | 0.9% | 5.5% |
| Ternay 5,596 · 1.2 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 0.7% | 6.8% |
| Sérézin-du-Rhône 3,133 · 1.7 mi | 38.5 | 18% | 0.4% | 6.4% |
| Chasse-sur-Rhône 6,588 · 2.2 mi | 36.3 | 16% | 0.8% | 14% |
| Saint-Symphorien-d'Ozon 6,186 · 2.4 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 1.1% | 7.5% |
| Grigny-sur-Rhône 10,030 · 2.5 mi | 36.8 | 15% | 0.6% | 13% |
| Solaize 3,144 · 2.5 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 0.5% | 5.6% |
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 Communay
What is the population of Communay?
4,540 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (4,080).
How old are Communay’s residents?
The median age is 43.5, younger than 54% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Communay?
18, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Communay?
INSEE counts 250 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.5% of residents, and 140 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Communay?
€31,860 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 8.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.