A town of second homes: 38% of its homes
43% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). Here, 1.4% of households rent social housing (HLM). The median age in Ranchal is 50.3, higher than in 84% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 304, in 150 households.
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 Ranchal
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ranchal, 38% of its 290 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 34 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
5.5% of homes are flats, below 95% 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
Just over a fifth of households have been in place 30 years or more; 7.4% moved in within the last two years. Ranchal has fewer households without a car than 94% of compared French towns, at 4.1%. Here 12% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%.
−2% since 2012, a pace below 79% 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
In two steps, +3% to 2017 and −5% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +10% in Rhône.
9.2% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 77% 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
■ Ranchal 50.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 24% here and 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
Only 17% of households are couples with children in Ranchal
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
Each household has 2 people on average. Against that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Two in five households are one person living alone, more than in 69% of compared French towns. There is little gap on single-parent households: 10%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
€23,050 a year: the median 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €23,050 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 81% of compared French towns.
Ranchal sits below 54% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (13%)
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. As a reference point, 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 foreign nationals than 84% of compared French towns, at 1.6%
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.
Against a figure of 6.5% in the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants in Ranchal comes in at 3.6%. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 77% 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 Ranchal, 47% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 80% 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
In Ranchal, 23% of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Ranchal ranks below 66% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 16%
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
By its share of graduates of higher education (28%), Ranchal is below 58% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 304 to 2,582 people, the 14th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
A younger town than 3 of the 6 around it: Ranchal
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranchal | 50.3 | 24% | 38% | 3.6% |
| Cours 4,306 · 4 mi | 51.1 | 31% | 5.8% | 4.7% |
| Chauffailles 3,638 · 6.4 mi | 58.1 | 39% | 6.3% | 6% |
| Thizy-les-Bourgs 5,771 · 7.2 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Amplepuis 4,876 · 11.1 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
| Charlieu 3,766 · 11.4 mi | 50.4 | 32% | 7.2% | 4.1% |
| Pouilly-sous-Charlieu 2,588 · 13.9 mi | 49.2 | 28% | 1.2% | 5.1% |
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 Ranchal
What is the population of Ranchal?
304 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (311).
How old are Ranchal’s residents?
The median age is 50.3, older than 84% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ranchal?
110, with occasional dwellings: 38% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ranchal?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ranchal?
€23,050 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.