Flats make up 1% in La Marche, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Here 4.1% of households are single parents, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 10%. La Marche had 509 residents in 250 households at the 2023 Census. Households headed by a retired person: 41% of the total. 8.1% of homes are second homes, more than in 86% of compared French towns.
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 Marche
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Marche had 558 residents at the 2012 census and 509 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of La Marche’s residents are under 52.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 38 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 96% of compared French towns: La Marche changed by −9% since 2012
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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Nièvre town −8%. The change was +1% from 2012 to 2017 and −10% from 2017 to 2023.
La Marche is older than 89% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Marche 52.2. The median compared French town: 44.
8.4% of residents are 15 to 24, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 31% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%.
Below 63% of compared French towns: 22% of households are couples with children
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
There are 2.1 people in the average household. At 33%, the share of one-person households is lower than in 63% of compared French towns. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
More empty homes than 90% of compared French towns: 12%
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
Without a car: one household in 16, against 11% in the median compared French town. Empty homes make up 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 6.1% of households have no car. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
€27,750 a year is the median standard of living here
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 La Marche is €27,750 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 68% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 92% of compared French towns: 4.1%
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 12% in La Marche. The share of households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
La Marche sits below 85% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (1.6%)
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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 72% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Nièvre has 5.9%. Elsewhere, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 24: 4.1% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
La Marche sits below 98% of compared French towns for single residents (18%)
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 45% in La Marche. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Below 69% of compared French towns: 16% of adults out of school have no 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
Graduates of higher education: 35% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. For adults with no qualification, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 19%.
Of 41 French towns its size (509 to 2,582 people), the 9th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
A younger town than 2 of the 6 around it: La Marche
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Marche | 52.2 | 31% | 8.1% | 4.1% |
| La Charité-sur-Loire 4,705 · 2.8 mi | 54 | 36% | 6.7% | 5.7% |
| Garchizy 3,648 · 7.7 mi | 45 | 23% | 1.4% | 3.9% |
| Guérigny 2,505 · 8.5 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 2.8% | 1.5% |
| Fourchambault 3,992 · 8.8 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 1.2% | 6.3% |
| Varennes-Vauzelles 9,146 · 10.1 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 1.1% | 6.1% |
| Marzy 3,623 · 10.9 mi | 49.1 | 25% | 1.5% | 4.5% |
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 Marche
What is the population of La Marche?
509 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (558).
How old are La Marche’s residents?
The median age is 52.2, older than 89% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Marche?
25, with occasional dwellings: 8.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Marche?
INSEE counts 21 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.1% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Marche?
€27,750 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). 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 9, 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.