Only 28% of households are one person living alone in Les Ayvelles
16% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. There were 350 households in Les Ayvelles at the 2023 Census, home to 851 residents. Locally, 5.4% of households have no car. More households headed by a retired person than in three quarters of compared French towns: 37%.
Throughout this page, the Ardennes 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 Les Ayvelles
Fewer residents than in 2012
Les Ayvelles had 975 residents at the 2012 census and 851 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −13% since 2012 leaves Les Ayvelles behind 99% 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, −8% to 2017 and −5% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −9% in Ardennes.
A median age of 43.2: Les Ayvelles is younger than 57% 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
■ Les Ayvelles 43.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 21% in Les Ayvelles and 22% in the typical compared French town. 11% of residents are 15 to 24, or about one in nine.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
30% of households are couples with children, a share 74% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Ardennes median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.4 people on average. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. Nothing unusual on single-parent households: 9.9%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Above 76% of compared French towns: 9.5% of homes stand empty
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 7.9% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 23%. The benchmark for empty homes in the typical compared French town: 6.7%. Fewer households in social housing than in 66% of compared French towns: 8.9%. Les Ayvelles sits close to the norm on second homes: 1.8%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €26,310 a year to live on
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 median standard of living in Les Ayvelles is €26,310 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 54% of compared French towns.
10% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 77% 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
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional here. Households headed by a manual worker: 14% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 1.7% of residents are foreign nationals in Les Ayvelles
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 median compared commune in Ardennes has 6.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 72% of compared French towns. Typically, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The census found that 4.1% of residents are immigrants in Les Ayvelles.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Les Ayvelles, 46% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 69% 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
23% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 56% of compared French towns: 28%
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: a fifth of the total. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 851 to 2,582 people: this is the 12th youngest
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).
Of the 6 towns nearest Les Ayvelles, 5 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Ayvelles | 43.2 | 21% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| Villers-Semeuse 3,615 · 1.5 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 0.5% | 5.8% |
| Vivier-au-Court 2,732 · 3.3 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.4% | 11% |
| Charleville-Mézières 45,560 · 3.4 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 2.3% | 11% |
| Vrigne aux Bois 3,518 · 4.7 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Nouzonville 5,523 · 6.6 mi | 46 | 23% | 0.9% | 6.2% |
| Sedan 16,667 · 8.3 mi | 45 | 24% | 1.3% | 8% |
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 Les Ayvelles
What is the population of Les Ayvelles?
851 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (975).
How old are Les Ayvelles’ residents?
The median age is 43.2, younger than 57% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Ayvelles?
7, with occasional dwellings: 1.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Ayvelles?
INSEE counts 35 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.1% of residents, and 15 foreign nationals (1.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Ayvelles?
€26,310 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 9, 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.