Younger than 99% of compared French towns: half of Cayenne is under 30
With flats at 66%, Cayenne is ahead of 87% of compared French towns on that count. 44% of households have no car. This French Guiana town has fewer couples with children than 74% of compared French towns, at 20%. At the 2023 Census, 62,675 people lived locally, in 24,450 households.
Throughout this page, the French Guiana 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 Cayenne
Immigrants
INSEE counts 22,300 immigrants in Cayenne (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 36% of residents, against – for the median compared commune in French Guiana. 42% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Cayenne’s residents are under 30 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 26% are under 15 and 9.7% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 3,330 homes empty (11%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Cayenne outgrew 79% of compared French towns: +14%
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% for the median French Guiana town, the change came in two steps: +11% from 2012 to 2017, then +2% to 2023.
Cayenne sits below 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (9.7%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Cayenne 30. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 17% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: France 51.8%.
A larger share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 31%
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 French Guiana median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.5 people. On one-person households, Cayenne sits lower than 58% of compared French towns: 34%. For comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
In Cayenne, 11% of homes stand empty, more than in 86% 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 Cayenne, 4.4% of homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Here, 23% of households rent social housing (HLM). Measured more widely, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Cayenne ranks below 99% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 14%
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 the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Cayenne, 7.8%. Fewer households headed by a manual worker than in 52% of compared French towns: 14%. The wider picture: nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Cayenne sits above 99% of compared French towns for immigrants (36%)
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.
Just over two in five residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 18% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 58% of residents 15 and over are single here. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Cayenne sits above 99% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (42%)
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
The share of graduates of higher education is 21%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 55,790 to 68,092 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.
The youngest is Cayenne (30), the oldest Hyères (50.9).
Around Cayenne, 3 of 5 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayenne | 30 | 9.7% | 4.4% | 36% |
| Remire-Montjoly 27,723 · 4.6 mi | 34.8 | 9.6% | 2.8% | 23% |
| Matoury 36,512 · 6.1 mi | 28.8 | 8.6% | 3% | 34% |
| Macouria 19,899 · 10.9 mi | 26.4 | 5.9% | 2.9% | 27% |
| Montsinéry-Tonnegrande 3,626 · 11.3 mi | 32.2 | 8.2% | 6.9% | 23% |
| Roura 3,449 · 14.5 mi | 37.1 | 10% | 21% | 30% |
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 Cayenne
What is the population of Cayenne?
62,675 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% more than in 2012 (55,198).
How old are Cayenne’s residents?
The median age is 30, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 32% are under 18 and 9.7% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cayenne?
1,290, with occasional dwellings: 4.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cayenne?
INSEE counts 22,330 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 36% of residents, and 26,370 foreign nationals (42%). 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 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.