Photo: Syced · CC0Older than 99% of compared French towns: half of Penvénan is over 63.3
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children in Penvénan comes in at 13%. Census figures put households headed by a manual worker at 5.8% here. On flats, Penvénan sits lower than 97% of compared French towns: 4.3%. At the 2023 Census Penvénan was home to 2,584 people in 1,370 households.
Throughout this page, the Côtes-d'Armor 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 Penvénan
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,010 second homes and occasional dwellings in Penvénan, 41% of its 2,470 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 97% 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 Penvénan’s residents are under 63.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 46% 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.
A larger share of second homes than 96% of compared French towns: 41%
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
The share of households in social housing is 5.8%, against 12% in the typical compared French town. 3.6% of homes stand empty. At 7.6%, the share of households without a car is lower than in 69% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
±0% since 2012, a pace below 71% 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 median Côtes-d'Armor town changed +3% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −2% and the next six +2%.
46% of residents are 65 or over, a share 99% 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
■ Penvénan 63.3. The median compared French town: 44.
6.2% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. 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 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Côtes-d'Armor 52.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer single-parent households than 95% of compared French towns: 6.2%
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 Côtes-d'Armor median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 1.8 people. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. One-person households are more common here than in 71% of compared French towns.
A median standard of living of €27,520 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.
Half of residents live in households above €27,520 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 66% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 11.0% of residents.
57% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional: 6.9%, below 69% of compared French towns. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 88% of compared French towns: 2.4% of residents are immigrants
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.
With foreign nationals at 1.6%, Penvénan is behind 85% of compared French towns on that count. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Côtes-d'Armor has 2.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 88% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 17% of residents 15 and over are single in Penvénan
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 52% of residents 15 and over are married here. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Penvénan ranks above 59% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 33%
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 in the typical compared French town, against 17% in Penvénan. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 2,561 to 2,609 people
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 Saint-Yzan-de-Soudiac (37.6), the youngest, and Penvénan (63.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Penvénan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penvénan | 63.3 | 46% | 41% | 2.4% |
| Louannec 3,019 · 5.6 mi | 57.5 | 39% | 15% | 2% |
| La Roche-Jaudy 2,629 · 6.3 mi | 49 | 26% | 13% | 3.4% |
| Perros-Guirec 7,336 · 7.2 mi | 62.4 | 45% | 41% | 2.7% |
| Lannion 20,315 · 9.5 mi | 46.2 | 26% | 6.2% | 5.9% |
| Trégastel 2,524 · 9.5 mi | 62.6 | 45% | 52% | 2.8% |
| Pleumeur-Bodou 3,848 · 10.6 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 34% | 2.4% |
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 Penvénan
What is the population of Penvénan?
2,584 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (2,589).
How old are Penvénan’s residents?
The median age is 63.3, older than 99% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 46% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Penvénan?
1,010, with occasional dwellings: 41% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Penvénan?
INSEE counts 61 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% of residents, and 41 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Penvénan?
€27,520 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 8, 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.