Lain is older than 93% of compared French towns: a median age of 54.4
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (5.9%), Lain is below 94% of compared French towns. 2.4% of households have no car. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The town had 172 residents in 88 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Yonne 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 Lain
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 30 second homes and occasional dwellings in Lain, 22% of its 130 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Lain’s residents are under 54.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 17 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Lain, 22% of homes are second homes, more than in 94% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of flats is 30%; Lain has 3%. Locally, 13% of homes stand empty. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Lain changed by +2% from 2012 to 2023, behind 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 those years, the median Yonne town changed −4% and the median compared French town +5%.
In Lain, 4.8% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% 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
■ Lain 54.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over a third of residents are 65 or over, against 22% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Yonne 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 83% of compared French towns: 18%
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 Yonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2 people on average. Few places have as many one-person households: 41% here, more than in nearly three quarters of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%. The figure for single-parent households is 12% in Lain and 10% in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €23,900 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 €23,900 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 73% of compared French towns.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 47% of households are headed by a retired person
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
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 5.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. To put it in context, 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).
Lain sits below 98% of compared French towns for immigrants (1.2%)
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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For comparison, 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.
Fewer single residents than 93% of compared French towns: 20%
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
Compared with other places, married residents are scarce here: 42%, fewer than in 57% of compared French towns. To put it in context, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education make up 26% in Lain, less than in 64% 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
Adults with no qualification make up about one in five here (19%). For comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 7th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Lain is younger than 1 of its 4 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lain | 54.4 | 35% | 22% | 1.2% |
| Toucy 2,571 · 8.3 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Clamecy 3,544 · 13.7 mi | 49.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 11% |
| Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche 3,151 · 15.5 mi | 56.9 | 38% | 1.5% | 6.3% |
| Auxerre 35,097 · 16.3 mi | 44.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 13% |
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 Lain
What is the population of Lain?
172 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (169).
How old are Lain’s residents?
The median age is 54.4, older than 93% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lain?
30, with occasional dwellings: 22% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lain?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.2% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Lain?
€23,900 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 October 30, 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.