In Seignelay, 3.3% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 93% of compared French towns
Nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). Seignelay counted 1,476 residents and 720 households at the 2023 Census. In Seignelay, 13% of homes are flats. Few places have as many empty homes: 10% here, more than in 79% of compared French towns.
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 Seignelay
Fewer residents than in 2012
Seignelay had 1,597 residents at the 2012 census and 1,476 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−8% since 2012, a pace below 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Yonne town −4%.
A median age of 48.5: Seignelay is older than 77% 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
■ Seignelay 48.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 26% in Seignelay and 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
Seignelay sits above 68% of compared French towns for one-person households (40%)
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%; Seignelay has 24%. Here, nearly one in ten households are single parents. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of second homes than 75% of compared French towns: 4.5%
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
Nearly a quarter of households have been in place 30 years or more; 7.6% moved in within the last two years. In the typical compared French town, second homes come to 2.1%. At 7.7%, the share of households without a car is lower than in 68% of compared French towns. Without a car: one household in 13, against 11% in the median compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €26,150 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 Seignelay’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €26,150 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 52% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 74% of compared French towns: 6.2%
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
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Seignelay has 17%. Higher than in 66% of compared French towns: 35% of households are headed by a retired person. The share of households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 3.1% of residents are immigrants in Seignelay
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.
The median compared commune in Yonne has 9.2%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The census found that 2.2% of residents are foreign nationals in Seignelay.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Seignelay ranks below 74% of compared French towns on married residents: 39%
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
A quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, against 23% in Seignelay. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Below 63% of compared French towns: 26% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
Put another way, about one in five: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 1,476 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Of the 6 towns nearest Seignelay, 3 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seignelay | 48.5 | 26% | 4.5% | 3.1% |
| Monéteau 4,114 · 4 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2% | 6.2% |
| Appoigny 3,114 · 4.1 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 2.7% | 6.2% |
| Migennes 6,688 · 5.8 mi | 45.1 | 25% | 1.8% | 17% |
| Brienon-sur-Armançon 3,032 · 6.2 mi | 47 | 25% | 7.3% | 6.1% |
| Auxerre 35,097 · 7.6 mi | 44.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 13% |
| Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche 3,151 · 7.8 mi | 56.9 | 38% | 1.5% | 6.3% |
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 Seignelay
What is the population of Seignelay?
1,476 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (1,597).
How old are Seignelay’s residents?
The median age is 48.5, older than 77% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Seignelay?
38, with occasional dwellings: 4.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Seignelay?
INSEE counts 45 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 32 foreign nationals (2.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Seignelay?
€26,150 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.