Mérignac is older than 94% of compared French towns: a median age of 54.9
Flats make up 0.5%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. There were 340 households in Mérignac at the 2023 Census, home to 805 residents. On the census count, 29% of households are one person living alone. At 41%, the share of households headed by a retired person is higher than in 85% of compared French towns.
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 Mérignac
An older town
Half of Mérignac’s residents are under 54.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+8% since 2012, a pace 64% of compared French towns didn’t match
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 median Charente town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +13% and the next six −4%.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 4.4% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mérignac 54.9. The median compared French town: 44.
35% of residents are 65 or over (typical compared French town: 22%). Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 90 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.
In Mérignac, 7.4% of households are single parents, fewer than in 86% 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
There are 2.2 people in the average household. On couples with children, Mérignac sits higher than 55% of compared French towns: 26%. Set beside that, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of empty homes than 81% of compared French towns: 10%
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 last two years, 4.2% of households moved in; at the other end, 31% have stayed 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Where 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town, Mérignac has 5%.
A median of €27,500 a year per consumption unit
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 Mérignac is €27,500 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 66% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 7.4%, a lower share than 65% 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
Households headed by a manual worker: 16% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 2.3%, a lower share than 88% 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.
Foreign nationals: 1.9% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 16% of residents 15 and over are single
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
The figure for married residents is 48% in Mérignac and 43% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Above 85% of compared French towns: 27% of adults out of school have no qualification
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
The share of graduates of higher education trails 73% of compared French towns: 24%. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
6th highest median age among 41 French towns of 805 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Mérignac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mérignac | 54.9 | 35% | 5% | 2.3% |
| Jarnac 4,486 · 4.7 mi | 52.5 | 33% | 3.8% | 4.5% |
| Rouillac 2,919 · 6.5 mi | 49.3 | 30% | 5.7% | 2.6% |
| Châteauneuf-sur-Charente 3,550 · 6.8 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 2.9% | 6.4% |
| Fléac 3,861 · 8.4 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 0.5% | 3.9% |
| Roullet-Saint-Estèphe 4,357 · 9.4 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 2.9% |
| Saint-Michel 3,196 · 9.7 mi | 49.8 | 32% | 2.4% | 8.2% |
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 Mérignac
What is the population of Mérignac?
805 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (743).
How old are Mérignac’s residents?
The median age is 54.9, older than 94% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mérignac?
20, with occasional dwellings: 5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mérignac?
INSEE counts 19 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 15 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mérignac?
€27,500 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.