Above 99% of compared French towns: 19% of homes stand empty
Households headed by a manager or professional: 3.1% here and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Census day 2023: 1,975 residents and 970 households in Orbec. Put another way, about one in two: 47% of households are one person living alone. 21% of households have no car, more than in 85% of compared French towns.
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 Orbec
Fewer residents than in 2012
Orbec had 2,248 residents at the 2012 census and 1,975 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 250 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Orbec’s residents are under 52.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −12% change since 2012: slower than 98% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −10%, then −2% to 2023. Over those years, the median Calvados town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%.
A median age of 52.3: Orbec is older than 89% 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
■ Orbec 52.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 11%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town. In Orbec, 32% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Calvados 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
15% of households are couples with children, below 92% of compared French towns
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, 11% of households are single parents here. Households here average 1.9 people each. As a yardstick, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Above 82% of compared French towns: 6.6% of homes are second homes
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
Without a car: one household in five, against 11% in the median compared French town. The benchmark for second homes in the typical compared French town: 2.1%. The census found that 15% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Orbec. Few places have so few flats: 28% here, fewer than in 54% of compared French towns.
At the median, €21,760 a year to live on
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 Orbec is €21,760 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 90% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 88% of compared French towns, at 42%
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
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Orbec comes in at 19%. Households headed by a retired person: 32% 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 smaller share of immigrants than 77% of compared French towns: 3.6%
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 Orbec, 2.2%. The share of immigrants 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.
Orbec sits below 88% of compared French towns for married residents (36%)
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
29% of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
35% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 98% 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
Nearly a fifth of Orbec’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 35% have no diploma (19%).
Of 41 French towns its size (1,975 to 2,582 people), the 8th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Around Orbec, 1 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orbec | 52.3 | 32% | 6.6% | 3.6% |
| Livarot-Pays-d'Auge 6,207 · 9.2 mi | 46.1 | 25% | 16% | 2.2% |
| Bernay 9,765 · 9.7 mi | 49.2 | 29% | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Vimoutiers 2,978 · 11.3 mi | 60.1 | 43% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| Lisieux 19,645 · 11.4 mi | 47 | 28% | 2.1% | 6.2% |
| Mesnil-en-Ouche 4,414 · 12.3 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 19% | 2.3% |
| La Ferté-en-Ouche 2,938 · 12.9 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 17% | 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 Orbec
What is the population of Orbec?
1,975 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (2,248).
How old are Orbec’s residents?
The median age is 52.3, older than 89% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Orbec?
86, with occasional dwellings: 6.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Orbec?
INSEE counts 71 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 43 foreign nationals (2.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Orbec?
€21,760 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.