Viesly ranks below 98% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 1.3%
Here 30% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. The 2023 Census put Viesly’s population at 1,364, in 600 households. Census figures put flats at 3.7% in the town. 31% of households are couples with children, more than in 81% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Nord 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 Viesly
Fewer residents than in 2012
Viesly had 1,477 residents at the 2012 census and 1,364 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 79 homes empty (11%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Viesly has changed by −8%, slower than 94% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Nord town ±0%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was +2%; from 2017 to 2023, −9%.
Younger than 55% of compared French towns: half of Viesly is under 43.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Viesly 43.4. The median compared French town: 44.
There is little gap on residents aged 15 to 24: 11%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. About one in five: that is how common residents aged 65 and over are in Viesly (21%).
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 92% of compared French towns: 6.7%
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 Nord median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, 33% of households are one person living alone in Viesly. Single-parent households: 10% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Households average 2.3 people.
Viesly ranks above 85% of compared French towns on empty homes: 11%
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
At 1.6%, the share of second homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 51% of compared French towns: 11% of households have no car. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 8% moved in during the last two years and 28% have stayed three decades or more.
A median of €23,340 a year per consumption unit
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,340 a year: lower than in 78% of compared French towns.
4.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 92% 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
By its share of households headed by a retired person (39%), Viesly is above just over four fifths of compared French towns. For comparison, 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).
0.9% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
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.
Here 0.3% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. Across the 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.
Married residents make up 38% in Viesly, less than in 81% 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
Compared with other places, single residents are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 54% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 89% of compared French towns: 19%
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 22%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 12th youngest of 41 French towns this size
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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Viesly
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viesly | 43.4 | 21% | 1.6% | 0.9% |
| Solesmes 4,142 · 2.6 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 2.1% | 1.2% |
| Caudry 13,833 · 3.1 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 1% | 2.4% |
| Avesnes-les-Aubert 3,562 · 4.6 mi | 41.5 | 22% | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Le Cateau-Cambrésis 6,764 · 4.9 mi | 42 | 21% | 1.5% | 3.1% |
| Haspres 2,626 · 7.7 mi | 41.4 | 20% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| Iwuy 3,403 · 8.3 mi | 38.2 | 18% | 1.1% | 1.9% |
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 Viesly
What is the population of Viesly?
1,364 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (1,477).
How old are Viesly’s residents?
The median age is 43.4, younger than 55% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Viesly?
11, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Viesly?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.9% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (0.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Viesly?
€23,340 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 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.