Older than 94% of compared French towns: half of Deshaies is over 54.7
The share of households without a car is 27%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. The 2023 Census counted 3,710 residents in 1,760 households. Put another way, about one in six: 17% of households are single parents. Fewer households in social housing than in 92% of compared French towns: 3.6%.
Throughout this page, the Guadeloupe 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 Deshaies
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,360 second homes and occasional dwellings in Deshaies, 41% of its 3,290 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 95% 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
Deshaies had 4,271 residents at the 2012 census and 3,710 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Deshaies’ residents are under 54.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Deshaies: 41% of homes are second homes, above 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
One household in four has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Deshaies has fewer flats than 94% of compared French towns, at 5.8%. Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. For Deshaies, the census puts empty homes at 5.4%.
A change of −13% since 2012 leaves Deshaies 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −4%, and from 2017 to 2023 −9%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Guadeloupe town ±0%.
In Deshaies, 29% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 82% 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
■ Deshaies 54.7. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.1%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
20% of households are couples with children, fewer 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 Guadeloupe median and the France median
Living alone · share
One-person households: 39%, above nearly two thirds of compared French towns. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.1 people each.
Deshaies sits below 81% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (9.3%)
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 retired person: 37% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. Deshaies has fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 71% of compared French towns, at 6.6%. 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).
Only 2.7% of residents are immigrants in Deshaies
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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Deshaies has 2.1%. For comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 85% 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.
Above 97% of compared French towns: 39% of residents 15 and over are single
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
Married residents make up 37%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Adults with no qualification: 30%, a higher share than 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
Here 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 3,681 to 3,740 people: this is the 4th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Lourches (35.1), the youngest, and Cabourg (63.9), the oldest.
Deshaies and its 6 nearest towns: 1 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deshaies | 54.7 | 29% | 41% | 2.7% |
| Pointe-Noire 5,762 · 5.1 mi | 55.7 | 31% | 20% | 0.9% |
| Sainte-Rose 17,700 · 6.6 mi | 49 | 23% | 8% | 6% |
| Lamentin 18,628 · 11 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 1.4% | 4.6% |
| Bouillante 6,127 · 12.2 mi | 54.1 | 28% | 12% | 2% |
| Baie-Mahault 30,924 · 14 mi | 40.8 | 16% | 1.4% | 4.8% |
| Petit-Bourg 24,665 · 15.7 mi | 44.3 | 19% | 6.7% | 3.5% |
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 Deshaies
What is the population of Deshaies?
3,710 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (4,271).
How old are Deshaies’ residents?
The median age is 54.7, older than 94% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Deshaies?
1,360, with occasional dwellings: 41% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Deshaies?
INSEE counts 100 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.7% of residents, and 77 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.