Couples with children make up 40% in Waly, more than in 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, 11% of households have no car; in Waly, 3.8%. The town had 58 residents in 26 households at the 2023 census. Residents aged 15 to 24 make up about one in 15 here (6.8%). Few places have as many empty homes: 10% here, more than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
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 Waly
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 5 second homes and occasional dwellings in Waly, 16% of its 35 homes: higher than in 91% 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 ↓
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 15% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
An older town
Half of Waly’s residents are under 50.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Waly had 61 residents at the 2012 census and 58 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 88% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Flats make up 2.8% in Waly, less than in 99% 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
Where 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town, Waly has 16%. The share of households in social housing stands at 12%. Elsewhere, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Waly has changed by −5%, slower than 88% 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 −2% from 2012 to 2017 and −3% from 2017 to 2023.
Half of Waly is over 50.8, older than 85% 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
■ Waly 50.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 31%, above 87% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
42% women, 58% men
About 74 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Meuse 52.5%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 69% of compared French towns: 40%
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
On average, 2.3 people share a household. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 40% in Waly, more than in 99% 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
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 40% in Waly. Against that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 1.7% of residents are immigrants in Waly
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 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Waly comes in at 1.7%. Immigrants make up a share lower than in 95% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Meuse has 7.3%. Typically, 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.
Only 40% of residents 15 and over are married in Waly
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
Single residents: 28%, above 69% of compared French towns. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Below 78% of compared French towns: 22% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Waly has 22%. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 58 to 2,582 people, the 11th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Waly
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waly | 50.8 | 31% | 16% | 1.7% |
| Sainte-Menehould 4,146 · 10.3 mi | 50.5 | 31% | 1.8% | 4.6% |
| Thierville-sur-Meuse 3,172 · 15.4 mi | 37.1 | 19% | 2.6% | 2.9% |
| Verdun 16,890 · 16 mi | 45 | 26% | 2.1% | 7.3% |
| Belleville-sur-Meuse 3,013 · 16.6 mi | 45 | 24% | 1.8% | 3.5% |
| Bar-le-Duc 14,607 · 17.2 mi | 48.1 | 26% | 2.5% | 9.4% |
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 Waly
What is the population of Waly?
58 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (61).
How old are Waly’s residents?
The median age is 50.8, older than 85% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Waly?
5, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Waly?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (1.7%). 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.