A larger share of couples with children than 99% of compared French towns: 42%
Households in social housing: 0.5% here and 12% in the typical compared French town. More households headed by a manual worker than in 98% of compared French towns: 26%. Esson counted 576 residents and 210 households at the 2023 Census. Flats account for 3%.
Throughout this page, the Calvados 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 Esson
A town of families
42% of households are couples with children and 2.4% single parents with children; 27% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of Esson’s residents are under 36 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +16% change since 2012: Esson grew faster than 83% 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 median Calvados town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +4% and the next six +12%.
Younger than 94% of compared French towns: half of Esson is under 36
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Esson 36. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 13% here and 22% in the typical compared French town. What’s more, on residents aged 15 to 24, Esson sits lower than 84% of compared French towns: 8.8%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 98% of compared French towns: 23%
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 Calvados median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 10% in the typical compared French town, 2.4% of households are single parents in Esson. On average, 2.7 people share a household. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%.
In Esson, 3.8% of households have no car, fewer than in 95% 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
Turnover: nearly one in ten households moved in less than two years ago, and 18% have lived in their home 30 years or more. On second homes, Esson sits higher than nearly two thirds of compared French towns: 3.5%. Households without a car make up 11% in the typical compared French town. At 7.4%, the share of empty homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
€24,260 a year is the median standard of living here
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 Esson’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,260 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
Only 2.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Esson
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; Esson has 21%. Against that, 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).
1.5% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 97% 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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Esson, 1.3%. As a yardstick, 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.
More married residents than 95% of compared French towns: 51%
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Esson comes in at 23%. As a yardstick, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
26% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 65% 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
Higher than in 56% of compared French towns: 20% of adults out of school have no qualification. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 576 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.
Esson is the youngest (36); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Esson is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esson | 36 | 13% | 3.5% | 1.5% |
| Thury-Harcourt-le-Hom 3,600 · 2.2 mi | 42.2 | 22% | 3.6% | 1.5% |
| Les Monts d'Aunay 4,777 · 8.4 mi | 42 | 21% | 2.9% | 2% |
| Condé-en-Normandie 5,985 · 8.7 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 3.7% | 3.4% |
| Saint-Martin-de-May 4,529 · 10.5 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 0.3% | 2.8% |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 11.6 mi | 49 | 27% | 9.4% | 1.9% |
| Villers-Bocage 3,088 · 11.9 mi | 49.4 | 31% | 0.9% | 1.6% |
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 Esson
What is the population of Esson?
576 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% more than in 2012 (497).
How old are Esson’s residents?
The median age is 36, younger than 94% of compared French towns. 31% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Esson?
8, with occasional dwellings: 3.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Esson?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Esson?
€24,260 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.