Older than 91% of compared French towns: half of Montbard is over 52.9
By its share of households headed by a retired person (44%), Montbard is above 92% of compared French towns. In Montbard, 14% of households are couples with children. Compared with other places, households in social housing are common here: 32%, more than in 94% of compared French towns. There were 2,400 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 4,639 residents.
Throughout this page, the Côte-d'Or 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 Montbard
Fewer residents than in 2012
Montbard had 5,437 residents at the 2012 census and 4,639 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Montbard’s residents are under 52.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 540 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Montbard’s households are one person: higher than in 93% of compared French towns; 39% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −15% since 2012 leaves Montbard 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
The change was −5% from 2012 to 2017 and −10% from 2017 to 2023.
Montbard sits above 91% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (33%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montbard 52.9. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.1%, Montbard is behind nearly four fifths of compared French towns on that count. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Côte-d'Or 52.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Montbard sits above 93% of compared French towns for one-person households (50%)
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 Côte-d'Or median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 1.8 people. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. Single-parent households make up 11%, against 10% in the typical compared French town.
Empty homes: 18%, a higher share than 98% 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
The share of second homes is 3.8%, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town. In Montbard, nearly a quarter of households have no car. Few places have as many flats: 50% here, more than in 74% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €22,070 a year in standard of living
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 €22,070 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 88% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 22.0% of the population.
Only 4.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Montbard
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 14% in the typical compared French town, 16% of households are headed by a manual worker here. As a reference point, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
7.3% of Montbard’s residents are immigrants
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.
Put another way, about one in 14: 7.3% of residents are immigrants. There is little gap on foreign nationals: 4.3%, about the same as 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.
Fewer married residents than 86% of compared French towns: 36%
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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 31% of residents 15 and over are single in Montbard. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Montbard: 30% of adults out of school have no qualification, above 90% 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: 19% here and 30% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (4,610 to 4,672 people), the 6th 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.
The youngest is Auzeville-Tolosane (30.5), the oldest La Tremblade (62.9).
Every neighbor is younger than Montbard
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montbard | 52.9 | 33% | 3.8% | 7.3% |
| Venarey-les-Laumes 2,747 · 8.2 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 3.1% | 5.4% |
| Semur-en-Auxois 3,986 · 9.3 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 9.3% | 5.6% |
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 Montbard
What is the population of Montbard?
4,639 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (5,437).
How old are Montbard’s residents?
The median age is 52.9, older than 91% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montbard?
120, with occasional dwellings: 3.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montbard?
INSEE counts 340 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.3% of residents, and 200 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montbard?
€22,070 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.0% 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.