17% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Montsec, 7.7%. Half are older than 43.7, younger than 53% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 75 people lived locally, in 30 households.
Throughout this page, the Meuse 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 Montsec
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 11 second homes and occasional dwellings in Montsec, 23% of its 48 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Montsec had 85 residents at the 2012 census and 75 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
33% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 7 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Montsec: 23% of homes are second homes, above 94% 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 without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. 14% of homes stand empty, or about one in seven.
A change of −12% since 2012 leaves Montsec behind 98% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved ±0%, then −12% to 2023. Over those years, the median Meuse town changed −8% and the median compared French town +5%.
In Montsec, 28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 79% 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
■ Montsec 43.7. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Montsec is 43.7, lower than in 53% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Meuse 52.5%, France 51.8%.
In Montsec, 33% of households are couples with children, more than in 88% 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 Meuse median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Typically, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. The typical household size is 2.3 people.
Households headed by a retired person: 33%, a higher share than 55% 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
Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, nearly a third 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).
Below 86% of compared French towns: 2.5% 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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of immigrants 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.
Single residents: 15%, a lower share than 99% 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
In the median compared French town 43% are married and 6.1% in a PACS; here it is 50% and 12%, and 6.7% are widowed. By way of comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education make up 17% in Montsec, less than in 94% 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
The figure for adults with no qualification is 33% in Montsec and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
The 15th youngest of 41 French towns of 75 to 2,582 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 4 are older than Montsec
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montsec | 43.7 | 28% | 23% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Mihiel 3,772 · 8.2 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 3.2% | 10% |
| Commercy 5,350 · 10.8 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 1.9% | 9.4% |
| Foug 2,628 · 14.7 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 0.8% | 5.3% |
| Blénod-lès-Pont-à-Mousson 4,659 · 14.9 mi | 39.2 | 20% | 0.5% | 13% |
| Pagny-sur-Moselle 3,919 · 15 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.2% | 2.7% |
| Pont-à-Mousson 14,190 · 15.2 mi | 41.3 | 20% | 1.8% | 11% |
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 Montsec
What is the population of Montsec?
75 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (85).
How old are Montsec’s residents?
The median age is 43.7, younger than 53% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montsec?
11, with occasional dwellings: 23% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montsec?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). 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.