Below 99% of compared French towns: 3% of households have no car
Here 33% of households are couples with children, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. Across Meys, 21% of households are headed by a manual worker. The town has fewer flats than 91% of compared French towns, at 7.6%. Census day 2023: 861 residents and 330 households in the town.
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.
Since 2012, Meys has grown +8%, faster than 62% 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 Rhône town +10%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was +6%; from 2017 to 2023, +1%.
Only 18% of residents are 65 or over in Meys
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Meys 41.5. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 41.5, Meys is younger than 69% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. In Meys, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
24% of households are one person living alone, below 96% 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
Average household size: 2.5 people. On average, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. At 12%, the share of single-parent households is higher than in 77% of compared French towns.
Meys ranks below 83% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 5.7%
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
Nearly one in ten homes stand empty, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for households in social housing in the typical compared French town: 12%. The share of second homes stands at 5.8%.
A median standard of living of €25,100 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 €25,100 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 59% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 27% in Meys, less than in 78% 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
By its share of households headed by a manager or professional (7.4%), Meys is below 64% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for households headed by a retired person is 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Meys, 2.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 90% of compared French towns
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 figure for foreign nationals is 1.6% in Meys and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 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.
Meys ranks above 88% of compared French towns on married residents: 49%
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
For Meys, the census puts single residents at 25%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 64% of compared French towns, at 26%
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 Meys, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The 7th youngest of 41 French towns of 861 to 2,582 people
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).
Every neighbor is older than Meys
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meys | 41.5 | 18% | 5.8% | 2.2% |
| Chazelles-sur-Lyon 5,543 · 2.9 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 1.3% | 3.3% |
| Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise 3,785 · 4.4 mi | 47.2 | 29% | 1.7% | 4.6% |
| Saint-Galmier 5,829 · 6.9 mi | 47.7 | 26% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Montrond-les-Bains 5,652 · 8 mi | 48.3 | 29% | 1.7% | 4.4% |
| Saint-Martin-en-Haut 3,942 · 8.2 mi | 47.6 | 25% | 3.6% | 2% |
| Panissières 2,911 · 8.2 mi | 49.4 | 29% | 7.2% | 3% |
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 Meys
What is the population of Meys?
861 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (800).
How old are Meys’ residents?
The median age is 41.5, younger than 69% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Meys?
23, with occasional dwellings: 5.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Meys?
INSEE counts 19 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.2% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Meys?
€25,100 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.