Flats make up 4.7% in Canisy, less than in 96% of compared French towns
By its share of single-parent households (5.8%), Canisy is below 97% of compared French towns. Across Canisy, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24. Lower than in 80% of compared French towns: 6.2% of households rent social housing (HLM). The town had 1,707 residents in 780 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Manche 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 Canisy
Fewer residents than in 2012
Canisy had 1,814 residents at the 2012 census and 1,707 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Canisy’s population moved −6% on 2012, less than in 91% 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 change was −1% from 2012 to 2017 and −5% from 2017 to 2023.
Older than 70% of compared French towns: half of Canisy is over 47.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Canisy 47.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over a quarter of Canisy’s residents are 65 or older, against 29% in the median Manche town and 22% in the median compared French town; 20% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
32% of households are one person living alone, below 65% 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 Manche median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.1 people on average. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%. Few places have so few couples with children: 24% here, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns.
Households without a car: 7.2%, a lower share than 71% 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
One household in 14 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). On second homes, Canisy sits higher than 69% of compared French towns: 3.7%.
Standard of living at the median: €25,020 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.
Half of Canisy’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €25,020 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 60% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 79% of compared French towns: 5.8%
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
37% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. On top of that, households headed by a manual worker are more common here than in 65% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, nearly one in ten 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).
Below 99% of compared French towns: 0.8% of residents are immigrants
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 Manche has 2.4%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town. 0.3% 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 smaller share of single residents than 94% of compared French towns: 19%
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 Canisy, just over half of residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 72% of compared French towns: 24%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification here. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Median age: 1 of the 6 towns around Canisy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canisy | 47.2 | 26% | 3.7% | 0.8% |
| Bourgvallées 3,326 · 2.6 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 3.3% | 2.1% |
| Agneaux 4,286 · 3.5 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 1.3% | 3.2% |
| Saint-Lô 19,471 · 4.4 mi | 43.3 | 24% | 2.2% | 6.2% |
| Marigny-Le-Lozon 2,761 · 4.4 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 2.1% | 1.1% |
| Condé-sur-Vire 4,137 · 6 mi | 46.2 | 24% | 2.5% | 1.4% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Elle 2,516 · 8.8 mi | 43 | 20% | 2.8% | 0.9% |
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 Canisy
What is the population of Canisy?
1,707 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (1,814).
How old are Canisy’s residents?
The median age is 47.2, older than 70% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Canisy?
32, with occasional dwellings: 3.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Canisy?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.8% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (0.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Canisy?
€25,020 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 4, 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.