22% of homes in Échay are second homes
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 6.2% of homes are flats in Échay. 113 residents in 46 households: that is Échay at the 2023 Census. The census found that 20% of households are headed by a retired person locally. Single-parent households are more common here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Doubs 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 Échay
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 14 second homes and occasional dwellings in Échay, 22% of its 63 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 93% 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
Échay had 123 residents at the 2012 census and 113 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 4.8% of homes stand empty in Échay
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
13% of households moved in less than two years ago; 23% have been in their home 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes is 6.7%. Nothing unusual on households without a car: 11%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
−8% since 2012: slower than 95% 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 +5%, and from 2017 to 2023 −12%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Doubs town −1%.
Échay sits below 76% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (18%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Échay 41.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Échay’s residents are under 41.8, younger than in 68% of compared French towns. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. The census found that 13% of residents are 15 to 24 locally.
Women and men · all residents
60% women, 40% men
About 67 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 30% in Échay, more than in 75% 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 Doubs median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of one-person households trails 77% of compared French towns: 30%. By way of comparison, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. There are 2.5 people in the average household.
Median living standard: €25,050 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 €25,050 a year: lower than in 60% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 30% in Échay, more than in 99% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are more common here than in 53% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 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).
Échay ranks below 78% of compared French towns on immigrants: 3.5%
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.
Here, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals. 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.
23% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 67% 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
41% of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
24% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 73% 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 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Échay comes in at 35%. Measured more widely, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (113 to 2,582 people), the 7th youngest
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.
Échay sits below 5 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
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 Échay
What is the population of Échay?
113 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (123).
How old are Échay’s residents?
The median age is 41.8, younger than 68% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Échay?
14, with occasional dwellings: 22% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Échay?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.5% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Échay?
€25,050 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 October 30, 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.