Half of Decize is over 56.7, older than 96% of compared French towns
Couples with children: 11%, below 98% of compared French towns. For Decize, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 46%. Higher than in 78% of compared French towns: 5.3% of homes are second homes. This Nièvre town had 4,932 residents in 2,670 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Nièvre 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 Decize
Fewer residents than in 2012
Decize had 5,711 residents at the 2012 census and 4,932 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Decize’s residents are under 56.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
51% of Decize’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 36% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 590 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Decize changed by −14% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 99% 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 −8% for the median Nièvre town, the change came in two steps: −6% from 2012 to 2017, then −9% to 2023.
Decize: 37% of residents are 65 or over, above 96% 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
■ Decize 56.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Where 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, Decize has 8.7%. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Decize sits above 94% of compared French towns for one-person households (51%)
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 Nièvre median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 1.8 people. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Lower than in 58% of compared French towns: 9.6% of households are single parents.
17% of homes stand empty, more than in 98% 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
With households in social housing at 14%, Decize is ahead of 59% of compared French towns on that count. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. Roughly two in ten: 21% of households have no car. Higher than in 64% of compared French towns: 40% of homes are flats.
Median standard of living: €23,230 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 Decize is €23,230 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 80% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 19.0% of the population.
Decize sits below 95% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (3.6%)
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
Locally, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. As a reference point, 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).
Fewer immigrants than 71% of compared French towns: 4.3%
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 figure for foreign nationals is 3.1% in Decize and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of married residents than 89% of compared French towns, at 35%
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
27% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 91% 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 adults with no qualification at 27%, Decize is ahead of 83% of compared French towns on that count. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 2nd oldest of 41 French towns of 4,884 to 4,981 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.
The youngest is Mourmelon-le-Grand (30.8), the oldest Le Fenouiller (57).
Decize is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decize | 56.7 | 37% | 5.3% | 4.3% |
| La Machine 3,192 · 4.8 mi | 54.8 | 35% | 6.2% | 4% |
| Imphy 3,182 · 11.7 mi | 51.3 | 31% | 2.6% | 6.5% |
| Avermes 4,074 · 17.6 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 1.4% | 5.2% |
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 Decize
What is the population of Decize?
4,932 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (5,711).
How old are Decize’s residents?
The median age is 56.7, older than 96% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Decize?
180, with occasional dwellings: 5.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Decize?
INSEE counts 210 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 150 foreign nationals (3.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Decize?
€23,230 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 19.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.