Older than 98% of compared French towns: half of La Forêt-de-Tessé is over 59.9
In La Forêt-de-Tessé, 1.2% of homes are flats, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manual worker make up about one in four here (24%). Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Its 110 households held 206 residents at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 La Forêt-de-Tessé
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 34 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Forêt-de-Tessé, 19% of its 180 homes: higher than in 93% 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 La Forêt-de-Tessé’s residents are under 59.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 0 immigrants in La Forêt-de-Tessé (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 18% of residents, against 4.8% for the median compared commune in Charente. 17% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Empty homes
The census found 34 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 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
7.5% of households moved in less than two years ago; 27% have been in their home 30 years or more. La Forêt-de-Tessé has more second homes than 93% of compared French towns, at 19%. The benchmark for empty homes in the typical compared French town: 6.7%. Households without a car: 6.9%, below nearly three quarters of compared French towns.
A change of ±0% since 2012 leaves La Forêt-de-Tessé behind 68% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Charente town +1%. The first five years brought −8%; the six to 2023, +9%.
La Forêt-de-Tessé sits above 97% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (38%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Forêt-de-Tessé 59.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 5.7% of residents are 15 to 24 in La Forêt-de-Tessé. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children: 18%, a lower share than 80% 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 Charente median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 1.9 people on average. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 32%, fewer than in just over two thirds of compared French towns. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €22,440 a year
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,440 a year: lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
Below 86% of compared French towns: 5% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
By its share of households headed by a retired person (36%), La Forêt-de-Tessé is above 68% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 9.4% of 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).
In La Forêt-de-Tessé, 18% of residents are immigrants, more than in 90% 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.
17% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. Across the comparison, 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 lower share of single residents than 99% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
Where 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, La Forêt-de-Tessé has 60%. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Only 21% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in La Forêt-de-Tessé
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 adults out of school have no qualification, or about one in five. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (206 to 2,582 people), the 4th 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).
1 in 4 nearby towns have a higher median age than La Forêt-de-Tessé
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Forêt-de-Tessé | 59.9 | 38% | 19% | 18% |
| Ruffec 3,449 · 6.5 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 4.9% | 10% |
| Civray 2,522 · 11.2 mi | 61 | 43% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
| Melle 5,752 · 14.8 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 4.3% | 3.7% |
| Valence-en-Poitou 4,325 · 17.3 mi | 47.2 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
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 La Forêt-de-Tessé
What is the population of La Forêt-de-Tessé?
206 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (205).
How old are La Forêt-de-Tessé’s residents?
The median age is 59.9, older than 98% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Forêt-de-Tessé?
34, with occasional dwellings: 19% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Forêt-de-Tessé?
INSEE counts 37 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 18% of residents, and 35 foreign nationals (17%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Forêt-de-Tessé?
€22,440 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.