More couples with children than 98% of compared French towns: 39%
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Messincourt’s population at 580, in 240 households. The census found that 2.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of flats in Messincourt comes in at 2.9%.
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 Messincourt
A town of families
39% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Messincourt had 617 residents at the 2012 census and 580 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 32 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.
−6% since 2012: slower than 91% 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 Ardennes town changed −9% and the median compared French town +5%.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 93% of compared French towns, at 14%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Messincourt 39.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Messincourt, 12%. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Half of the town’s residents are under 39.5, younger than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of one-person households than 84% of compared French towns, at 28%
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
Single-parent households: 11%, above 63% of compared French towns. To put it in context, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 2.5 people on average.
A higher share of empty homes than 86% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 8.9% in Messincourt. For comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Turnover: 7.6% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 24% have lived in their home 30 years or more. At 2.9%, the share of second homes is higher than in just over three fifths of compared French towns.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €23,390 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.
At €23,390 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 78% of compared French towns.
Messincourt sits above 99% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (43%)
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
In Messincourt, 30% of households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 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).
More immigrants than 75% of compared French towns: 11%
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 figure for foreign nationals is 8.4% in Messincourt and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Across the 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.
44% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 59% 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
On the census count, 25% of residents 15 and over are single. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Below 92% of compared French towns: 18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
Where 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Messincourt has 18%. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
Ranked by age, 2nd youngest 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as young as Messincourt
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messincourt | 39.5 | 14% | 2.9% | 11% |
| Carignan 2,680 · 3.3 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 1.8% | 7.2% |
| Sedan 16,667 · 9.7 mi | 45 | 24% | 1.3% | 8% |
| Vrigne aux Bois 3,518 · 13.9 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Vivier-au-Court 2,732 · 15.2 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.4% | 11% |
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 Messincourt
What is the population of Messincourt?
580 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (617).
How old are Messincourt’s residents?
The median age is 39.5, younger than 82% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Messincourt?
8, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Messincourt?
INSEE counts 64 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 49 foreign nationals (8.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Messincourt?
€23,390 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 8, 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.