A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 99% of compared French towns: 54%
A quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, against 20% in Lemé. On flats, Lemé sits lower than 98% of compared French towns: 3.6%. This Aisne town counted 409 residents and 190 households at the 2023 Census. Put another way, about one in 15: 6.8% of residents are 15 to 24.
Throughout this page, the Aisne 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 Lemé
Fewer residents than in 2012
Lemé had 443 residents at the 2012 census and 409 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −8% since 2012, behind 94% 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
The change was −3% from 2012 to 2017 and −5% from 2017 to 2023.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 71% of compared French towns: 26%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Lemé 44.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Lemé is 44.9, higher than in 56% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Lemé ranks above 55% of compared French towns on one-person households: 36%
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 Aisne median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.2 people share a household. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone. 10% of households are single parents, a higher share than in 53% of compared French towns.
A larger share of empty homes than 84% of compared French towns: 11%
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
With second homes at 5.3%, Lemé is ahead of 78% of compared French towns on that count. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. For Lemé, the census puts households without a car at 8%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
A median standard of living of €23,030 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.
Half of residents live in households above €23,030 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 81% of compared French towns.
In Lemé, 2.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 98% 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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 25% of households are headed by a manual worker in Lemé. On average, 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).
0% of Lemé’s residents are immigrants
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.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 86% of compared French towns: 21%
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
Married residents: 48% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single.
Lemé sits below 96% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (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
With adults with no qualification at 31%, Lemé is ahead of 94% of compared French towns on that count. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
18th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 409 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Nearby, 1 of 6 towns have older populations than Lemé
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemé | 44.9 | 26% | 5.3% | 0% |
| Vervins 2,549 · 6.4 mi | 42.2 | 23% | 2.2% | 4.2% |
| Guise 4,490 · 7.5 mi | 47.9 | 27% | 1% | 1.8% |
| Hirson 8,469 · 15.3 mi | 43.6 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.4% |
| Wignehies 2,804 · 16.2 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Bohain-en-Vermandois 5,605 · 17.1 mi | 41.1 | 21% | 0.8% | 4.9% |
| Fresnoy-le-Grand 2,890 · 17.2 mi | 44.1 | 23% | 1.2% | 2.7% |
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 Lemé
What is the population of Lemé?
409 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (443).
How old are Lemé’s residents?
The median age is 44.9, older than 56% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lemé?
12, with occasional dwellings: 5.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lemé?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% 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 Lemé?
€23,030 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.