Couples with children make up 37% in Sornay, more than in 96% of compared French towns
15% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). At the 2023 Census, 357 people lived in Sornay, in 140 households. The census found that 2.1% of households have no car locally. Compared with other places, flats are scarce here: 6.2%, fewer than in 94% 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 Sornay
A town of families
37% of households are couples with children and 3.7% single parents with children; 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of Sornay’s residents are under 37.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 22% are under 15 and 17% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +16% change since 2012: faster than 83% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −5% for the median Haute-Saône town, the change came in two steps: +9% from 2012 to 2017, then +6% to 2023.
Half of Sornay is under 37.8, younger than 89% 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
■ Sornay 37.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In Sornay, 17% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 11% in the town, about one in ten.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Saône 51.4%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns, at 3.7%
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
A household here holds 2.6 people on average. By way of comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few one-person households: 26% here, fewer than in 92% of compared French towns.
Empty homes: 9.3%, a higher share than 75% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Second homes: 4.3% of the total. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Some 15% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 21% who have been there 30 years or more.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €27,960 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.
The median standard of living in Sornay is €27,960 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 70% of compared French towns.
19% of households are headed by a manager or professional, a share 85% of compared French towns don’t reach
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, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Sornay has 7.4%. Households headed by a manager or professional make up 9.4% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0.8% of residents are immigrants, below 99% 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.
With foreign nationals at 1.1%, Sornay is behind 92% of compared French towns on that count. As a reference point, 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.
More married residents than 57% of compared French towns: 44%
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
In Sornay, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
9.6% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 96% 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
With graduates of higher education at 40%, Sornay is ahead of 80% of compared French towns on that count. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (357 to 2,582 people), the 2nd youngest
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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
5 of 6 neighbors are older than Sornay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sornay | 37.8 | 17% | 4.3% | 0.8% |
| Saint-Vit 5,133 · 8.4 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 1.2% | 5.8% |
| Gray 5,365 · 12.4 mi | 47.5 | 28% | 2.4% | 11% |
| Les Auxons 2,533 · 12.4 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 0.7% | 3.7% |
| Miserey-Salines 2,661 · 13.1 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.6% |
| École-Valentin 2,579 · 13.7 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 1.6% | 6.1% |
| Besançon 118,489 · 15.1 mi | 35.6 | 19% | 2.5% | 15% |
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 Sornay
What is the population of Sornay?
357 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% more than in 2012 (309).
How old are Sornay’s residents?
The median age is 37.8, younger than 89% of compared French towns. 28% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sornay?
7, with occasional dwellings: 4.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sornay?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.8% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sornay?
€27,960 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.