A median age of 61.3: Les Mathes is older than 99% of compared French towns
12% of households are couples with children, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Empty homes account for 0.3%. At 4.4%, the share of households in social housing is lower than in 89% of compared French towns. Les Mathes’s 1,160 households held 2,180 residents at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Charente-Maritime 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 Les Mathes
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 4,080 second homes and occasional dwellings in Les Mathes, 78% of its 5,250 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 91% 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 Les Mathes’ residents are under 61.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Les Mathes had 1,741 residents at the 2012 census and 2,180 in 2023, up 25%: faster growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Les Mathes, 78% of homes are second homes, more than in 99% 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
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Les Mathes, 6.3%. Measured more widely, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. 9.3% of homes are flats.
A growing town: +25% since 2012, faster than 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
The change was +13% from 2012 to 2017 and +10% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns, at 42%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Les Mathes 61.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Les Mathes has 5.4%. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Les Mathes sits below 83% of compared French towns for single-parent households (7.7%)
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 Charente-Maritime median and the France median
Living alone · share
Here 37% of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. By way of comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. The average household has 1.9 people.
At the median, €27,780 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.
Living standards centre on €27,780 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 69% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 11.0% of residents.
54% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 7.4% of households are headed by a manual worker in Les Mathes. For comparison, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. 4.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, or about one in 21.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 83% of compared French towns: 2.9%
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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 1.3% of residents are foreign nationals here. On average, 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.
A larger share of married residents than 99% of compared French towns: 55%
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
25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, against 17% in Les Mathes. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 76% of compared French towns: 23%
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
Census figures put adults with no qualification at 18% in Les Mathes. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 2nd oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Older than Les Mathes: 4 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Mathes | 61.3 | 42% | 78% | 2.9% |
| Arvert 3,917 · 2.6 mi | 57.2 | 37% | 17% | 2% |
| Étaules 2,857 · 2.8 mi | 55.5 | 36% | 17% | 3.7% |
| La Tremblade 4,650 · 4.3 mi | 62.9 | 46% | 49% | 4.7% |
| Breuillet 3,058 · 4.7 mi | 62.5 | 45% | 14% | 2.4% |
| Saint-Palais-sur-Mer 3,840 · 5.5 mi | 68.1 | 58% | 69% | 3.1% |
| Vaux-sur-Mer 4,013 · 6.7 mi | 66.9 | 54% | 63% | 2.5% |
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 Les Mathes
What is the population of Les Mathes?
2,180 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 25% more than in 2012 (1,741).
How old are Les Mathes’ residents?
The median age is 61.3, older than 99% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Mathes?
4,080, with occasional dwellings: 78% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Mathes?
INSEE counts 62 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 29 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Mathes?
€27,780 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 11.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 9, 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.