Méry-la-Bataille ranks below 99% of compared French towns on flats: 1.5%
Where nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, Méry-la-Bataille has 3.9%. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 27%, fewer than in 87% of compared French towns. 604 residents in 250 households: that is Méry-la-Bataille at the 2023 Census. Residents aged 65 and over account for 17%.
Throughout this page, the Oise 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.
A −3% change since 2012: slower than 80% 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
The change was +1% from 2012 to 2017 and −4% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Oise town +2%.
A median age of 41.6: Méry-la-Bataille is younger than 69% 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
■ Méry-la-Bataille 41.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 11%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Oise 51.7%, France 51.8%.
Méry-la-Bataille ranks above 81% of compared French towns on couples with children: 31%
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 Oise median and the France median
Living alone · share
7.8% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). Couples with children make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Only 7.6% of households have no car in Méry-la-Bataille
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
2.9% of homes are second homes, about the same as in the typical compared French town. On average, just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town. In Méry-la-Bataille, 6.5% of homes stand empty. Higher than in 52% of compared French towns: 13% of households rent social housing (HLM).
Median standard of living: €23,700 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,700 a year: lower than in 75% of compared French towns.
24% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 27% in Méry-la-Bataille. Households headed by a manual worker: 14% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 1.8% in Méry-la-Bataille, less than in 94% 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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 1.5% of residents are foreign nationals here. Set beside that, 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.
Méry-la-Bataille: 46% of residents 15 and over are married, above 72% 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
The share of single residents stands at 26%. Across the comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 95% 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%, Méry-la-Bataille is ahead of 84% of compared French towns on that count. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 604 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Older than Méry-la-Bataille: 3 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Méry-la-Bataille | 41.6 | 17% | 2.9% | 1.8% |
| Montdidier 5,935 · 7.5 mi | 46.3 | 25% | 1.8% | 2.3% |
| Estrées-Saint-Denis 3,664 · 8.2 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 1.2% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Just-en-Chaussée 5,810 · 9.2 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 0.7% | 6.6% |
| Venette 2,758 · 11.7 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 1.9% | 7.9% |
| Longueil-Annel 2,586 · 11.8 mi | 42 | 20% | 1% | 6.6% |
| Margny-lès-Compiègne 8,677 · 11.9 mi | 37.8 | 16% | 2% | 14% |
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 Méry-la-Bataille
What is the population of Méry-la-Bataille?
604 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (620).
How old are Méry-la-Bataille’s residents?
The median age is 41.6, younger than 69% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Méry-la-Bataille?
8, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Méry-la-Bataille?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.8% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Méry-la-Bataille?
€23,700 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.