Mélisey is older than 90% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.7
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Mélisey comes in at 43%. The town had 1,625 residents in 840 households at the 2023 census. Locally, 15% of households are couples with children. At 9.6%, the share of empty homes is higher than in 77% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Saône 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 Mélisey
An older town
Half of Mélisey’s residents are under 52.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−2% since 2012, a pace below 79% 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 +1%, and from 2017 to 2023 −3%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Haute-Saône town −5%.
7.6% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 95% 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
■ Mélisey 52.7. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 84% of compared French towns: 30%. By way of comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Saône 51.4%, France 51.8%.
Mélisey: 42% of households are one person living alone, above 76% 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-Saône median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 1.9 people. As a yardstick, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Locally, nearly one in ten households are single parents.
Above 81% of compared French towns: 6.1% of homes are second homes
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
7.8% of households moved in less than two years ago; 25% have been in their home 30 years or more. Fewer flats than in 62% of compared French towns: 23%. The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Households without a car are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 11%.
Half above, half below €24,240 a year in standard of living
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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,240 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
In Mélisey, 4.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 87% 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
In Mélisey, 19% of households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 86% 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 median compared commune in Haute-Saône has 8.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 86% of compared French towns. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%. Put another way, about one in 71: 1.4% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of single residents than 64% of compared French towns, at 24%
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
For Mélisey, the census puts married residents at 43%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 18%, a lower share than 92% 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: 26% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 1,625 to 2,582 people: this is the 8th 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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Mélisey
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mélisey | 52.7 | 30% | 6.1% | 2.6% |
| Ronchamp 2,737 · 4.7 mi | 46.6 | 25% | 2.9% | 3.4% |
| Lure 7,877 · 5.8 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 1.9% | 11% |
| Champagney 3,647 · 6.3 mi | 46 | 23% | 3.5% | 2% |
| Luxeuil-les-Bains 6,663 · 10 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 5.4% | 8.7% |
| Giromagny 2,907 · 12 mi | 51 | 29% | 4.1% | 3.9% |
| Fougerolles-Saint-Valbert 3,764 · 12.1 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 6.3% | 2.1% |
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 Mélisey
What is the population of Mélisey?
1,625 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (1,662).
How old are Mélisey’s residents?
The median age is 52.7, older than 90% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mélisey?
61, with occasional dwellings: 6.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mélisey?
INSEE counts 42 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 23 foreign nationals (1.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mélisey?
€24,240 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.