Esley is older than 88% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.8
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 6.3% of households are single parents, or about one in 16. At the 2023 Census Esley was home to 166 people in 77 households. With households headed by a retired person at 44%, Esley is ahead of 91% of compared French towns on that count.
Throughout this page, the Vosges 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 Esley
An older town
Half of Esley’s residents are under 51.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 14 homes empty (14%): 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, Esley has changed by −1%, slower than 72% 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 +14%, and from 2017 to 2023 −13%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Vosges town −6%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 33%, a higher share than 92% 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
■ Esley 51.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Esley has 12%. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vosges 52.1%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of one-person households than 70% of compared French towns, at 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 Vosges median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%. Fewer couples with children than in just over half of compared French towns: 25%.
14% of homes stand empty, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town, against 6.1% in Esley. As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Locally, 13% of homes are flats. Compared with other places, households without a car are scarce here: 7.6%, fewer than in 69% of compared French towns.
A median standard of living of €26,400 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.
Half of residents live in households above €26,400 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 55% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 99% of compared French towns, at 31%
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
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Esley ranks below 99% of compared French towns on immigrants: 0.6%
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Esley, 0.6%. The usual figure: 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.
A larger share of married residents than 88% of compared French towns: 49%
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 make up 21%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 93% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 25%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
9th highest median age among 41 French towns of 166 to 2,582
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 Esley
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esley | 51.8 | 33% | 6.1% | 0.6% |
| Vittel 4,780 · 5.5 mi | 56.6 | 36% | 14% | 5.9% |
| Contrexéville 2,923 · 7.6 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 5.6% | 10% |
| Mirecourt 4,700 · 9.7 mi | 49.2 | 25% | 2.1% | 6.1% |
| Chantraine 3,198 · 17.1 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 1.4% | 3.9% |
| Xertigny 2,589 · 17.2 mi | 47 | 27% | 4.2% | 3% |
| Golbey 8,832 · 17.2 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 0.9% | 5.9% |
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 Esley
What is the population of Esley?
166 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (167).
How old are Esley’s residents?
The median age is 51.8, older than 88% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Esley?
6, with occasional dwellings: 6.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Esley?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.6% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Esley?
€26,400 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.