Nay is older than 91% of compared French towns: a median age of 53
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 43% in Nay. This Manche town had 70 residents in 33 households at the 2023 Census. Second homes account for 8%. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 Nay
Fewer residents than in 2012
Nay had 77 residents at the 2012 census and 70 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Nay’s residents are under 53 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 6 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.
Since 2012, Nay has changed by −9%, slower than 96% 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 ±0% for the median Manche town, the change came in two steps: −9% from 2012 to 2017, then ±0% to 2023.
14% of residents are 15 to 24, a share 92% 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
■ Nay 53. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 24%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 118 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
14% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 93% 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
There are 2.1 people in the average household. As a yardstick, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Fewer one-person households than in 83% of compared French towns: 29%.
Nay ranks above 92% of compared French towns on empty homes: 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
One household in 11 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Households without a car: nearly a tenth of the total.
Nay ranks below 71% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 29%
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Nay sits above 91% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (14%)
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.
Against a figure of 6.5% in the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants in Nay comes in at 13%. The median compared commune in Manche has 2.4%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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 single residents than 72% of compared French towns: 29%
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
At 43%, the share of married residents is lower than in just over half of compared French towns. For comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 10% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
27% of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 7th 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).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 2 are older than Nay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nay | 53 | 24% | 8% | 13% |
| Saint-Sauveur-Villages 3,208 · 7.7 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 8.1% | 1.8% |
| Carentan-les-Marais 10,218 · 7.8 mi | 49.1 | 28% | 5% | 2.4% |
| La Haye 4,029 · 9.4 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 21% | 2.5% |
| Picauville 3,228 · 9.4 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| Marigny-Le-Lozon 2,761 · 11 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 2.1% | 1.1% |
| Sainte-Mère-Église 2,896 · 11.8 mi | 53.1 | 31% | 18% | 1.6% |
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 Nay
What is the population of Nay?
70 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (77).
How old are Nay’s residents?
The median age is 53, older than 91% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Nay?
3, with occasional dwellings: 8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Nay?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (14%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.