Meslay ranks above 99% of compared French towns on couples with children: 48%
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Meslay comes in at 14%. Empty homes are more common here than in 83% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 338 residents locally, living in 110 households. Households without a car make up about one in 45 here (2.2%).
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 Meslay
A town of families
48% of households are couples with children and 4.8% single parents with children; 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Meslay had 231 residents at the 2012 census and 338 in 2023, up 46%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A young town
Half of Meslay’s residents are under 36.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Growth of +46% since 2012 puts Meslay ahead of 99% 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
Here the change came as +26% to 2017, then +16% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +1% in Calvados.
Meslay is younger than 93% of compared French towns: a median age of 36.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Meslay 36.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over; in Meslay, 12%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 99% of compared French towns: 19%
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
Compared with 10% in the typical compared French town, 4.8% of households are single parents here. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone. There are 3 people in the average household.
Only 0.7% of homes are flats in Meslay
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Typically, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Locally, 4.7% of homes are second homes.
Half above, half below €25,190 a year in standard of living
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 median standard of living in Meslay is €25,190 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 58% of compared French towns.
Meslay: 29% of households are headed by a manual worker, above 99% of compared French towns
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
24% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.1%
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.5% of residents are foreign nationals in Meslay. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
48% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 83% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 27% of residents 15 and over are single here. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Meslay sits above 73% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (37%)
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: 16% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 338 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.
At the ends of the range sit Meslay (36.5), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Meslay 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meslay | 36.5 | 12% | 4.7% | 1.1% |
| Thury-Harcourt-le-Hom 3,600 · 5 mi | 42.2 | 22% | 3.6% | 1.5% |
| Falaise 7,680 · 10 mi | 46 | 26% | 2% | 2.6% |
| Condé-en-Normandie 5,985 · 10.1 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 3.7% | 3.4% |
| Saint-Martin-de-May 4,529 · 10.5 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 0.3% | 2.8% |
| Les Monts d'Aunay 4,777 · 11.3 mi | 42 | 21% | 2.9% | 2% |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 11.4 mi | 49 | 27% | 9.4% | 1.9% |
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 Meslay
What is the population of Meslay?
338 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 46% more than in 2012 (231).
How old are Meslay’s residents?
The median age is 36.5, younger than 93% of compared French towns. 30% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Meslay?
6, with occasional dwellings: 4.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Meslay?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.1% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Meslay?
€25,190 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.