Second homes: 25%, a higher share than 94% of compared French towns
5.4% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. Across Graye-sur-Mer, 4.3% of households have no car. Few places have as many households headed by a retired person: 41% here, more than in 87% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 773, in 290 households.
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 Graye-sur-Mer
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Graye-sur-Mer, 25% of its 410 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 91% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Graye-sur-Mer had 637 residents at the 2012 census and 773 in 2023, up 21%: faster growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
2.9% of homes stand empty, below 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
5% of households moved in less than two years ago; 18% have been in their home 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
From 2012 to 2023, Graye-sur-Mer outgrew 92% of compared French towns: +21%
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 median Calvados town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +8% and the next six +13%.
Half of Graye-sur-Mer is over 47.1, older than 70% 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
■ Graye-sur-Mer 47.1. The median compared French town: 44.
For Graye-sur-Mer, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 11%. Few places have as many residents aged 65 and over: 22% here, more than in half of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Graye-sur-Mer ranks below 91% of compared French towns on one-person households: 26%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Graye-sur-Mer has 8.4%. For comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. The share of couples with children stands at 30%.
A typical living standard of €27,360 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €27,360 a year: higher than in 65% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manual worker than 76% of compared French towns, at 10%
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 Graye-sur-Mer, 8.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional. The usual figure: 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).
Graye-sur-Mer sits below 96% of compared French towns for immigrants (1.5%)
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.
With foreign nationals at 0.9%, Graye-sur-Mer is behind 96% of compared French towns on that count. Elsewhere, 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.
A higher share of married residents than 67% of compared French towns, at 45%
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
Fewer single residents than in 54% of compared French towns: 25%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
24% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 72% 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
Graduates of higher education make up 28%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 773 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th oldest
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).
Of the 6 towns nearest Graye-sur-Mer, 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graye-sur-Mer | 47.1 | 22% | 25% | 1.5% |
| Courseulles-sur-Mer 4,268 · 1 mi | 65.3 | 51% | 55% | 2.6% |
| Douvres-la-Délivrande 5,143 · 5 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 3% | 4% |
| Luc-sur-Mer 3,275 · 5.5 mi | 56.9 | 37% | 27% | 2.5% |
| Hermanville-sur-Mer 3,323 · 7.9 mi | 51.2 | 28% | 30% | 1.9% |
| Rots 2,544 · 7.9 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 1.9% | 1.5% |
| Thue et Mue 6,182 · 8.8 mi | 39.8 | 16% | 1% | 1.4% |
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 Graye-sur-Mer
What is the population of Graye-sur-Mer?
773 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 21% more than in 2012 (637).
How old are Graye-sur-Mer’s residents?
The median age is 47.1, older than 70% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Graye-sur-Mer?
100, with occasional dwellings: 25% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Graye-sur-Mer?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Graye-sur-Mer?
€27,360 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.