Market Research Companies in Lyon

Key figures for researchers

Population

519,127 (official population in force from 1 January 2026, reference date 1 January 2023)¹

Arrondissements

9, from 28,717 residents (1st) to 100,679 (3rd) (2023)¹

Métropole de Lyon

1,436,354 residents in 58 communes, including Villeurbanne (163,684) (2023)¹

Age

Half of residents are under 33; 26% are aged 18–29, 19% are 60 or over (2022)³

Under 30

44% of residents (2022)³

Born abroad

18% of residents, 56% of them born in Africa (2022)⁴

Born in Lyon

About one resident in four; 37% were born in the Métropole (2022)⁴

Managers and professionals

40% of employed residents are cadres (2022)³

Research guide

Research landscape

Lyon is one of the main regional centres of the French research industry outside Paris, with full-service agencies, qualitative specialists, B2B and healthcare firms, field suppliers and viewing facilities. Be precise about the area in your brief: the commune of Lyon has 519,127 residents in 9 arrondissements, while the Métropole de Lyon is a separate local authority of 58 communes and 1,436,354 residents, including Villeurbanne (163,684) and Vénissieux (65,502).

Who you will interview

Lyon is a young city: half of residents are under 33, nine years below the national level, and 44% are under 30. One resident in four is aged 18 to 29, and one in five of them did not live in Lyon the year before. Only 19% are 60 or over, against 27% in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The workforce is highly qualified: 40% of employed residents are cadres (managers and professionals), and 53% in the 6th arrondissement.

18% of residents were born abroad, against 13% in metropolitan France; 56% of them were born in Africa, most often in Algeria, Morocco (8%) and Tunisia (7%), and Italy, Portugal and Spain are the main EU countries of birth. French works for virtually all studies, but check that the panel or recruitment network reaches these communities when they matter.

Fieldwork in practice

The 9 arrondissements differ in size and profile, from 28,717 residents in the 1st to 100,679 in the 3rd. Young adults are over-represented in the 1st, 2nd and 7th, families in the 9th and people aged 60 or over in the 4th and 5th. Quotas by arrondissement, or by groups of arrondissements, help balance the sample.

Door-to-door interviewing is difficult: most residents live in flats, usually behind a door code (digicode) or intercom. Many young residents move often, so allow for more contact attempts. Online is the main method for consumer surveys, with street, in-store or telephone interviews for specific targets.

Focus groups and qualitative research

In-person focus groups are usually held in dedicated viewing facilities with a one-way mirror and video streaming, most of them in central Lyon. Allow for travel time from the other communes of the Métropole when scheduling evening groups, and check TCL public transport for planned works on fieldwork days.

Ask the agency for its Lyon incentive levels and recruitment lead times; B2B and senior respondents often prefer online interviews. Students and young professionals are a large group in Lyon: set quotas so that they do not dominate general-population groups.

Timing

Lyon is in school zone A. In 2026–2027, schools are off from 17 October to 2 November 2026 (All Saints), 19 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 (Christmas), 13 February to 1 March 2027 (winter) and 10 to 26 April 2027 (spring); there is no school on Friday 7 May 2027 and the summer holidays start on 3 July 2027.

The Fête des Lumières runs from Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8 December 2026: the city centre is crowded in the evenings, so avoid in-person groups and street interviews there on those dates. August is the quietest month for B2B work and families.

Working with a Lyon agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, area (commune of Lyon, Métropole de Lyon or Rhône), arrondissements, method, languages and deadline.
• For face-to-face or recruitment, ask how the agency reaches buildings with digicodes, renters, social housing residents and recent movers.
• For focus groups, ask for the facility address, viewing room capacity, streaming options and incentive levels.
• Check fieldwork dates against the zone A school holidays, the Fête des Lumières and August.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 Lyon companies from this page.

National rules (data protection, holidays, sampling across regions) are covered in our guide to market research in France.