35% of households are couples with children, more than in 92% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Messimy, 4.3%. The town counted 3,546 residents and 1,470 households at the 2023 Census. The census found that 6.8% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the town. 27% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 76% of compared French towns.
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.
What stands out about the people of Messimy
A town of families
35% of households are couples with children and 8.6% single parents with children; 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +6% change since 2012: faster than 54% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Rhône town +10%.
Below 76% of compared French towns: 18% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Messimy 42.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, above 78% of compared French towns. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. The median age in Messimy is 42.9, lower than in 59% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 83% of compared French towns: 29%
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
Nearly one in ten households are single parents, against 10% in the typical compared French town. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 2.4 people on average.
A smaller share of flats than 58% of compared French towns: 25%
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
At 1.6%, second homes sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Empty homes make up about one in 17 here (5.8%).
Half above, half below €31,280 a year in standard of living
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 residents live in households above €31,280 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 89% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 6.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 15% in Messimy, more than in 76% 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
11% of households are headed by a manual worker (typical compared French town: 14%). As a yardstick, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Messimy ranks below 77% of compared French towns on immigrants: 3.6%
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 median compared commune in Rhône has 8.2%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 77% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The census found that 2.2% of residents are foreign nationals in Messimy.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of married residents than 61% of compared French towns, at 45%
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
On the census count, just over a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Adults with no qualification: 12%, a lower share than 89% of compared French towns
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
Graduates of higher education: 41% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 3,527 to 3,565 people, the 13th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Rubelles (34.9), the youngest, and Deauville (63.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Messimy
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messimy | 42.9 | 18% | 1.6% | 3.6% |
| Soucieu-en-Jarrest 4,660 · 1.7 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 0.8% | 3.9% |
| Thurins 3,404 · 2 mi | 39.6 | 16% | 2.4% | 3.6% |
| Brindas 6,775 · 2 mi | 42.4 | 17% | 1.5% | 4.4% |
| Vaugneray 6,304 · 2.6 mi | 41.5 | 20% | 2.5% | 3.3% |
| Orliénas 2,675 · 3.4 mi | 42.5 | 17% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Grézieu-la-Varenne 6,472 · 3.5 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 1.5% | 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 Messimy
What is the population of Messimy?
3,546 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (3,356).
How old are Messimy’s residents?
The median age is 42.9, younger than 59% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Messimy?
25, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Messimy?
INSEE counts 130 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 78 foreign nationals (2.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Messimy?
€31,280 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 6.0% 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.