Half of La Machine is over 54.8, older than 94% of compared French towns
Compared with 10% in the typical compared French town, 6.5% of households are single parents here. Households headed by a retired person account for 47%. Lower than in 87% of compared French towns: 4.9% of households rent social housing (HLM). At the 2023 Census, 3,192 people lived in La Machine, in 1,640 households.
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 La Machine
An older town
Half of La Machine’s residents are under 54.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Machine had 3,472 residents at the 2012 census and 3,192 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 350 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.
From 2012 to 2023, 95% of compared French towns grew faster than La Machine: −8%
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
In two steps, −4% to 2017 and −5% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −8% in Nièvre.
La Machine sits above 94% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (35%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Machine 54.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in La Machine comes in at 7.4%. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%.
In La Machine, 17% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 86% 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 Nièvre median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 1.9 people. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children. One-person households account for 46%.
La Machine sits above 97% of compared French towns for empty homes (17%)
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
6.2% of homes are second homes (Nièvre median 3%, France median 2.1%) and 17% are empty (6.7%). Flats: just over a tenth of the total. On households without a car, La Machine sits higher than 77% of compared French towns: 18%.
€22,200 a year: the median standard of living
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 La Machine’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,200 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 87% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 20.0%.
1.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer 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
Households headed by a manual worker: 20%, above 83% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 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 73% of compared French towns: 4% 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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, La Machine has 2.6%. For comparison, 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 39% of residents 15 and over are married in La Machine
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: 27%, above 60% of compared French towns. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 13% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 32%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 3,173 to 3,210 people: this is the 3rd 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.
At the ends of the range sit Salomé (38.2), the youngest, and Meschers-sur-Gironde (66.1), the oldest.
Nearby, 1 of 5 towns have older populations than La Machine
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Machine | 54.8 | 35% | 6.2% | 4% |
| Decize 4,932 · 4.8 mi | 56.7 | 37% | 5.3% | 4.3% |
| Imphy 3,182 · 9.6 mi | 51.3 | 31% | 2.6% | 6.5% |
| Coulanges-lès-Nevers 3,688 · 15.8 mi | 51.8 | 32% | 1.6% | 4.6% |
| Nevers 33,085 · 16 mi | 45.5 | 26% | 3.5% | 14% |
| Varennes-Vauzelles 9,146 · 17.2 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 1.1% | 6.1% |
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 La Machine
What is the population of La Machine?
3,192 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (3,472).
How old are La Machine’s residents?
The median age is 54.8, older than 94% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Machine?
130, with occasional dwellings: 6.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Machine?
INSEE counts 130 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4% of residents, and 85 foreign nationals (2.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Machine?
€22,200 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 20.0% 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.