Sémelay is older than 98% of compared French towns: a median age of 59.2
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Sémelay comes in at 59%. At the 2023 Census Sémelay was home to 223 people in 120 households. Here, 2.7% of homes are flats. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% 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 Sémelay
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 96 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sémelay, 35% of its 270 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Sémelay’s residents are under 59.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sémelay had 256 residents at the 2012 census and 223 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 60 homes empty (22%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 96% of compared French towns, at 35%
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
Just over a fifth of homes stand empty (typical compared French town: 6.7%). At 7.1%, the share of households without a car is lower than in 72% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Long tenure is the mark of 24% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 9% (under two years).
A change of −13% since 2012 leaves Sémelay behind 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −9%, and from 2017 to 2023 −5%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nièvre town −8%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns: 40%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sémelay 59.2. The median compared French town: 44.
2.9% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. 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 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%.
Only 4.8% of households are single parents in Sémelay
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
Here 46% of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. About one in six: that is how common couples with children are in Sémelay (17%). Across the comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €21,920 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.
At €21,920 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 89% of compared French towns.
4% of households are headed by a manual worker, below 98% 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
Across Sémelay, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional. In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Sémelay ranks above 91% of compared French towns on foreign nationals: 15%
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: 14%, above 82% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, foreign nationals come to 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents make up 22% in Sémelay, less than in 80% 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
Here, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 70% of compared French towns: 23%
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, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Sémelay, 25%. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
Of 41 French towns its size (223 to 2,582 people), the 4th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Sémelay and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sémelay | 59.2 | 40% | 35% | 14% |
| Bourbon-Lancy 4,674 · 17 mi | 57.2 | 39% | 14% | 4.3% |
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 Sémelay
What is the population of Sémelay?
223 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (256).
How old are Sémelay’s residents?
The median age is 59.2, older than 98% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sémelay?
96, with occasional dwellings: 35% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sémelay?
INSEE counts 30 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 14% of residents, and 32 foreign nationals (15%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sémelay?
€21,920 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.