Above 93% of compared French towns: 19% of homes are second homes
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 7.4% of residents are 15 to 24, or about one in 14. Here 6.2% of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Marne 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 Merrey
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 12 second homes and occasional dwellings in Merrey, 19% of its 64 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 100% 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
Merrey had 122 residents at the 2012 census and 93 in 2023, down 24%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 8 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of empty homes than 92% of compared French towns, at 13%
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
9.1% of households rent social housing (HLM) (typical compared French town: 12%). Census figures put households without a car at 6.8% in Merrey. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A change of −24% since 2012 leaves Merrey 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Haute-Marne town −9%. The first five years brought −18%; the six to 2023, −7%.
Half of Merrey is over 50.5, older than 85% 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
■ Merrey 50.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Merrey has 24%.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Marne 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Merrey: 30% of households are couples with children, above 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 Haute-Marne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 30% of households are one person living alone here. The share of couples with children in the typical compared French town is 25%. Households here average 2.1 people each.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €20,720 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.
Living standards centre on €20,720 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 95% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 99% of compared French towns: 50%
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
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 40% in Merrey. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Merrey sits below 90% of compared French towns for immigrants (2.1%)
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.
The median compared commune in Haute-Marne has 7.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 90% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
44% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 61% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Census figures put single residents at 25% in Merrey. The wider picture: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 7.5% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Merrey
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
With adults with no qualification at 37%, Merrey is ahead of 99% of compared French towns on that count. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 93 to 2,582 people: this is the 13th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Of the 3 towns nearest Merrey, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrey | 50.5 | 24% | 19% | 2.1% |
| Nogent 3,550 · 11.3 mi | 50.7 | 31% | 2.4% | 4.3% |
| Contrexéville 2,923 · 16.7 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 5.6% | 10% |
| Langres 7,421 · 17.9 mi | 46.5 | 27% | 3.4% | 13% |
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 Merrey
What is the population of Merrey?
93 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 24% fewer than in 2012 (122).
How old are Merrey’s residents?
The median age is 50.5, older than 85% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Merrey?
12, with occasional dwellings: 19% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Merrey?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Merrey?
€20,720 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 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.