Mélisey is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 58.2
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 223 residents in 120 households: that is Mélisey at the 2023 Census. The census found that just over one in ten households are couples with children here. Where 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Mélisey has 58%.
Throughout this page, the Yonne 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 Mélisey
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 30 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mélisey, 17% of its 170 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 93% 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 Mélisey’s residents are under 58.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Mélisey had 295 residents at the 2012 census and 223 in 2023, down 24%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 28 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Mélisey: 16% of homes stand empty, above 97% of compared French towns
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
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For Mélisey, the census puts second homes at 17%. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Households without a car make up 11%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Slower growth than 99% of compared French towns: Mélisey changed by −24% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −14%, and from 2017 to 2023 −12%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Yonne town −4%.
Mélisey sits above 98% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (40%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mélisey 58.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Mélisey comes in at 8.6%. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Yonne 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Mélisey sits below 99% of compared French towns for single-parent households (4.1%)
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 Yonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 1.9 people in the average household. Elsewhere, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. 41% of households are one person living alone, more than in 73% of compared French towns.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €25,740 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €25,740 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 52% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manual worker than 53% of compared French towns: 13%
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 85% of compared French towns: 2.6%
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, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Mélisey has 1.7%. For 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.
Fewer single residents than 79% of compared French towns: 22%
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
Married residents make up 47%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns: 14%
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
Where nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Mélisey has 34%. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (223 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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.
Mélisey is older than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mélisey | 58.2 | 40% | 17% | 2.6% |
| Tonnerre 4,261 · 6 mi | 47.3 | 29% | 3.8% | 14% |
| Saint-Florentin 4,164 · 17.3 mi | 47.7 | 28% | 3.5% | 18% |
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 Mélisey
What is the population of Mélisey?
223 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 24% fewer than in 2012 (295).
How old are Mélisey’s residents?
The median age is 58.2, older than 97% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mélisey?
30, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mélisey?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (1.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mélisey?
€25,740 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.