Half of Thilay is over 52.6, older than 90% of compared French towns
The figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 3.3% in Thilay and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The share of flats stands at 3.9%. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 93% of compared French towns. The town’s 460 households held 958 residents at the 2023 Census.
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 Thilay
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 140 second homes and occasional dwellings in Thilay, 22% of its 670 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 92% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Thilay had 1,067 residents at the 2012 census and 958 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Thilay’s residents are under 52.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
22% of homes are second homes, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Typically, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Empty homes: nearly a tenth of the total. At 11%, the share of households without a car is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
A change of −10% since 2012 leaves Thilay behind 97% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −1%, and from 2017 to 2023 −10%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ardennes town −9%.
In Thilay, 31% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 87% 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
■ Thilay 52.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 8.5% of residents are 15 to 24 in Thilay. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 24% in Thilay, less than in 57% of compared French towns
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
The average household has 2.1 people. As a yardstick, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. One-person households are more common here than in 54% of compared French towns.
At the median, €24,430 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.
Living standards centre on €24,430 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 67% of compared French towns.
Thilay: 48% of households are headed by a retired person, above 96% 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
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Thilay has 17%. On average, nearly a third 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).
In Thilay, 4.5% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 68% of compared French towns
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: 2.9% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Ardennes has 6.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in just over two thirds 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.
Single residents: 17%, a lower share than 99% 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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 50% in Thilay. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 95% 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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 92% of compared French towns: 30%.
The 8th oldest of 41 French towns of 958 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Every neighbor is younger than Thilay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thilay | 52.6 | 31% | 22% | 4.5% |
| Bogny-sur-Meuse 4,889 · 3 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 1.5% | 4.3% |
| Nouzonville 5,523 · 5.1 mi | 46 | 23% | 0.9% | 6.2% |
| Revin 5,716 · 8.6 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 3% | 12% |
| Charleville-Mézières 45,560 · 8.9 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 2.3% | 11% |
| Fumay 3,086 · 9.2 mi | 52.3 | 29% | 4.2% | 15% |
| Villers-Semeuse 3,615 · 9.9 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 0.5% | 5.8% |
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 Thilay
What is the population of Thilay?
958 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (1,067).
How old are Thilay’s residents?
The median age is 52.6, older than 90% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Thilay?
140, with occasional dwellings: 22% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Thilay?
INSEE counts 43 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 28 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Thilay?
€24,430 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.