Photo: Pradigue · CC BY-SA 3.0Dives-sur-Mer: 42% of homes are second homes, above 96% of compared French towns
By its share of empty homes (2.5%), Dives-sur-Mer is below 97% of compared French towns. Census figures put households headed by a retired person at 49% in the town. At 17%, the share of couples with children is lower than in 84% of compared French towns. The town had 5,122 residents in 2,610 households at the 2023 census.
Throughout this page, the Calvados 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 Dives-sur-Mer
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,990 second homes and occasional dwellings in Dives-sur-Mer, 42% of its 4,720 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 43% 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
Dives-sur-Mer had 5,867 residents at the 2012 census and 5,122 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Dives-sur-Mer’s residents are under 53.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
36% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 18% rent privately and 45% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Households in social housing make up 36% in Dives-sur-Mer, more than in 96% of compared French towns
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
In the typical compared French town, 30% of homes are flats; in Dives-sur-Mer, 43%. For Dives-sur-Mer, the census puts households without a car at 21%. Measured more widely, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
A change of −13% since 2012 leaves Dives-sur-Mer 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, −5% to 2017 and −8% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +1% in Calvados.
Half of Dives-sur-Mer is over 53.8, older than 92% 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
■ Dives-sur-Mer 53.8. The median compared French town: 44.
A third of Dives-sur-Mer’s residents are 65 or older, against 25% in the median Calvados town and 22% in the median compared French town; 17% are under 18. Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 11% in the town, about one in ten.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 80% of compared French towns: 43% of households are one person living alone
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 Calvados median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 1.9 people. On single-parent households, Dives-sur-Mer sits higher than 78% of compared French towns: 12%. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €22,640 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.
The median standard of living in Dives-sur-Mer is €22,640 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 84% of compared French towns. 18.0% of the population lives below the poverty line.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 90% of compared French towns: 4.4%
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
The census found that 15% of households are headed by a manual worker in Dives-sur-Mer. The share of households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 3% in Dives-sur-Mer, less than in 82% 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 make up 1.8%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Calvados has 3.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 82% 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.
Married residents make up 36% in Dives-sur-Mer, less than in 86% 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
Single residents: 29% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Graduates of higher education: 15%, a lower share than 97% 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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Dives-sur-Mer comes in at 30%.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 5,073 to 5,169 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 36 in Villenoy to 67.3 in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne.
Of the 6 towns nearest Dives-sur-Mer, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dives-sur-Mer | 53.8 | 33% | 42% | 3% |
| Cabourg 3,725 · 1.1 mi | 63.9 | 48% | 79% | 4.1% |
| Ouistreham 9,212 · 7.3 mi | 56.3 | 36% | 25% | 2.8% |
| Troarn 3,439 · 8.1 mi | 47.5 | 25% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Colleville-Montgomery 2,586 · 9 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 14% | 2.1% |
| Deauville 3,539 · 9.2 mi | 63.3 | 47% | 73% | 7.2% |
| Hermanville-sur-Mer 3,323 · 9.6 mi | 51.2 | 28% | 30% | 1.9% |
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 Dives-sur-Mer
What is the population of Dives-sur-Mer?
5,122 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (5,867).
How old are Dives-sur-Mer’s residents?
The median age is 53.8, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dives-sur-Mer?
1,990, with occasional dwellings: 42% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dives-sur-Mer?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3% of residents, and 94 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dives-sur-Mer?
€22,640 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.