Photo: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.0Above 99% of compared French towns: 18% of homes stand empty
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Wassy has 4.1%. This Haute-Marne town had 2,771 residents in 1,230 households at the 2023 census. Across Wassy, 23% of households rent social housing (HLM). The median age here is 48.7, higher than in 78% of compared French towns.
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 Wassy
Empty homes
The census found 280 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Wassy had 2,909 residents at the 2012 census and 2,771 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−5% since 2012: slower than 87% 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
The first five years brought ±0%; the six to 2023, −5%.
27% of residents are 65 or over, a share 76% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Wassy 48.7. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 11%. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Marne 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A lower share of couples with children than 67% of compared French towns, at 22%
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
With single-parent households at 12%, Wassy is ahead of 75% of compared French towns on that count. More one-person households than in 64% of compared French towns: 38%. The usual figure: 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.1 people share a household.
19% of households have no car, a share 80% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
15% of households moved in less than two years ago; 26% have been in their home 30 years or more. The usual figure: 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town. At 1.9%, second homes sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €22,880 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.
At €22,880 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 82% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 22.0% of residents.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 81% of compared French towns, at 19%
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, households headed by a manual worker come to 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.8% of residents are immigrants, below 84% 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.
The share of foreign nationals is 2.3%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. For immigrants, the comparison 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.
39% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 73% 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
About one in four: that is how common single residents are in Wassy (26%). To put it in context, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
15% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 97% 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: 32%, above 95% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 20th oldest of 41 French towns of 2,746 to 2,798 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.
Ages run from 37.7 in Trieux to 60.8 in Collioure.
Of the 3 towns nearest Wassy, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wassy | 48.7 | 27% | 1.9% | 2.8% |
| Saint-Dizier 22,858 · 9.5 mi | 43.6 | 23% | 1.9% | 10% |
| Ancerville 2,569 · 9.7 mi | 49.4 | 25% | 1.6% | 2.2% |
| Joinville 2,915 · 9.9 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 8.1% |
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 Wassy
What is the population of Wassy?
2,771 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (2,909).
How old are Wassy’s residents?
The median age is 48.7, older than 78% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Wassy?
29, with occasional dwellings: 1.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Wassy?
INSEE counts 77 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.8% of residents, and 64 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Wassy?
€22,880 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.