A median age of 62.5: Nessa is older than 99% of compared French towns
7.1% of households are headed by a manual worker, against 14% in the typical compared French town. In 2023, the Census found 122 residents in Nessa, living in 69 households. Couples with children: 11% of the total. Households without a car are rarer here than in 72% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Corse 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 Nessa
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 62 second homes and occasional dwellings in Nessa, 45% of its 140 homes: higher than in 97% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Nessa’s residents are under 62.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 45% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
47% of Nessa’s households are one person: higher than in 89% of compared French towns; 37% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Nessa, 45% of homes are second homes, more than in 97% 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
With flats at 8.5%, Nessa is behind 89% of compared French towns on that count. Across Nessa, 5.8% of homes stand empty. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Nessa grew +13% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 77% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Haute-Corse town +12%.
Nessa sits above 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (45%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Nessa 62.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In Nessa, 4% of residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
56% women, 44% men
About 77 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Corse 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of one-person households than 89% of compared French towns: 47%
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 Haute-Corse median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 1.8 people. The wider picture: just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few single-parent households: 8.6% here, fewer than in 73% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 51% in Nessa, more than in 98% 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
On the census count, 8.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Nessa, 3.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 80% of compared French towns
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%; Nessa has 3.2%. Against that, 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.
In Nessa, 37% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 84% 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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 28% of residents 15 and over are single in Nessa. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
35% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 67% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 16%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 122 to 2,582 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Nessa (62.5), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Nessa
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nessa | 62.5 | 45% | 45% | 3.2% |
| L'Île-Rousse 3,231 · 5.6 mi | 47.7 | 26% | 54% | 21% |
| Calenzana 2,684 · 5.8 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 37% | 11% |
| Calvi 5,788 · 9.7 mi | 40.2 | 20% | 56% | 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 Nessa
What is the population of Nessa?
122 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% more than in 2012 (108).
How old are Nessa’s residents?
The median age is 62.5, older than 99% of compared French towns. 9.7% are under 18 and 45% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Nessa?
62, with occasional dwellings: 45% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Nessa?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (3.2%). 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.