Below 99% of compared French towns: 1.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional
The figure for households in social housing is 4.2% in Bretignolles and 12% in the typical compared French town. 592 residents in 270 households: that is Bretignolles at the 2023 Census. Locally, 4.9% of homes are flats. Households without a car are rarer here than in 93% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Deux-Sèvres 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 Bretignolles
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bretignolles had 645 residents at the 2012 census and 592 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Bretignolles has changed by −8%, slower than 95% 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 first five years brought −7%; the six to 2023, −1%.
Bretignolles ranks below 93% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 8%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bretignolles 41.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Bretignolles is 41.4, lower than in 70% of compared French towns. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 19% here.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%.
Fewer single-parent households than 98% of compared French towns: 5.5%
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 Deux-Sèvres median and the France median
Living alone · share
Against a figure of 35% in the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households in Bretignolles comes in at 30%. On couples with children, Bretignolles sits higher than 68% of compared French towns: 29%. Single-parent households make up 10% in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 2.2 people on average.
Second homes make up 4.5% in Bretignolles, more than in 74% 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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 7.2%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 27%. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%. Compared with other places, empty homes are scarce here: 4.8%, fewer than in 77% of compared French towns.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,800 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €24,800 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
Bretignolles ranks above 90% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 22%
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 retired person: 30%, below 64% of compared French towns. The benchmark for households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town: 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 76% of compared French towns: 3.7% 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.
Foreign nationals: 2.7%, below 69% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% 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.
Married residents make up 50% in Bretignolles, more than in 91% 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, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single; in Bretignolles, 22%. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 67% of compared French towns, at 25%
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 adults with no qualification tops nearly two thirds of compared French towns: 22%. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 592 to 2,582 people, the 6th youngest
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).
No nearby town is as young as Bretignolles
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bretignolles | 41.4 | 19% | 4.5% | 3.7% |
| Cerizay 4,793 · 4.4 mi | 46.8 | 26% | 1.4% | 15% |
| Nueil-les-Aubiers 5,483 · 5.8 mi | 45 | 23% | 2.6% | 8.3% |
| Bressuire 19,970 · 5.8 mi | 43.7 | 22% | 1.8% | 9.6% |
| Mauléon 8,573 · 8.9 mi | 41.8 | 21% | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre 5,121 · 10.2 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Argentonnay 3,234 · 10.7 mi | 47.1 | 27% | 7.2% | 3.7% |
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 Bretignolles
What is the population of Bretignolles?
592 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (645).
How old are Bretignolles’ residents?
The median age is 41.4, younger than 70% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bretignolles?
13, with occasional dwellings: 4.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bretignolles?
INSEE counts 22 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.7% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bretignolles?
€24,800 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 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.