Messac is older than 93% of compared French towns: a median age of 54.2
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Messac had 102 residents in 46 households at the 2023 census. Census figures put households without a car at 4.3% in the town. A third of households are couples with children, against 25% in the typical compared French town.
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 Messac
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 18 second homes and occasional dwellings in Messac, 22% of its 79 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Messac’s residents are under 54.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 15 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Messac had 110 residents at the 2012 census and 102 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Messac ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 19%
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
Compared with 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 22% of homes are second homes here. 30% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 6.5% moved in within the last two years. The wider picture: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
−7% since 2012: slower than 93% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +8% for the median Charente-Maritime town, the change came in two steps: −5% from 2012 to 2017, then −3% to 2023.
30% of residents are 65 or over, a share 85% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Messac 54.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, Messac has 9.9%. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
42% women, 58% men
About 71 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
Only 33% of households are one person living alone in Messac
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
Single-parent households make up 11%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. There are 2.2 people in the average household.
More households headed by a retired person than 99% of compared French towns: 56%
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 33% in Messac. The wider picture: 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
8.9% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 78% 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.
By its share of immigrants (9.9%), Messac is above 70% of compared French towns. Typically, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
In Messac, 17% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Messac, 47%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Graduates of higher education make up 19% in Messac, less than in 88% 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
About one in five: that is how common adults with no qualification are in Messac (20%). The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 102 to 2,582
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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Messac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messac | 54.2 | 30% | 22% | 9.9% |
| Montendre 3,222 · 6 mi | 56.2 | 37% | 6.9% | 4% |
| Jonzac 3,602 · 8.9 mi | 54 | 36% | 26% | 5.1% |
| Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire 4,726 · 11.8 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2.4% | 4.3% |
| Saint-Yzan-de-Soudiac 2,586 · 14.8 mi | 37.6 | 14% | 0.9% | 4.5% |
| Saint-Ciers-sur-Gironde 3,175 · 15 mi | 49.2 | 29% | 4.4% | 3.1% |
| Saint-Savin 3,582 · 15.4 mi | 40.7 | 19% | 1.7% | 3.9% |
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 Messac
What is the population of Messac?
102 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (110).
How old are Messac’s residents?
The median age is 54.2, older than 93% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Messac?
18, with occasional dwellings: 22% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Messac?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.9% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (8.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.