Photo: Dacia 1410 Sport · CC BY-SA 4.0Parthenay sits below 96% of compared French towns for couples with children (13%)
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; Parthenay has 41%. At the 2023 Census Parthenay was home to 10,140 people in 5,400 households. About one in three: that is how common residents aged 65 and over are in Parthenay (31%). On households without a car, Parthenay sits higher than 88% of compared French towns: 23%.
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 Parthenay
Many people living alone
50% of Parthenay’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−2% since 2012: slower than 76% 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
In two steps, ±0% to 2017 and −1% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +1% in Deux-Sèvres.
A median age of 50: Parthenay is older than 83% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Parthenay 50. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11%, close to the figure 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: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Parthenay ranks above 94% of compared French towns on one-person households: 50%
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
Each household has 1.8 people on average. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households make up 10%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Above 72% of compared French towns: 8.9% of homes stand empty
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
Long tenure is the mark of 17% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 15% (under two years). Typically, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. At 2.8%, the share of second homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €22,680 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.
At €22,680 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 84% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 18.0% of the population.
6.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 70% 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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in seven. The wider picture: 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).
A larger share of foreign nationals than 59% of compared French towns: 5.3%
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.
That is higher than in 55% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Deux-Sèvres has 3.7%. Set beside that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. About one in 14: that is how common immigrants are in Parthenay (7.3%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer married residents than 87% of compared French towns: 36%
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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 30% of residents 15 and over are single in Parthenay. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Adults with no qualification make up 30% in Parthenay, more than in 91% 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
By its share of graduates of higher education (22%), Parthenay is below 78% of compared French towns. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
41 French towns of 9,963 to 10,323 people: this is the 3rd 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.
Pierrelaye is the youngest (35.2); Mazamet the oldest (51.2).
2 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Parthenay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parthenay | 50 | 31% | 2.8% | 7.3% |
| Châtillon-sur-Thouet 2,656 · 1.1 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 1.3% | 3.4% |
| Airvault 3,306 · 13.3 mi | 52.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 3.6% |
| Saint-Maixent-l'École 7,595 · 16.3 mi | 35.5 | 21% | 2.7% | 7.6% |
| Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre 5,121 · 16.8 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Boivre-la-Vallée 3,024 · 17.5 mi | 42.1 | 18% | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| Bressuire 19,970 · 17.7 mi | 43.7 | 22% | 1.8% | 9.6% |
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 Parthenay
What is the population of Parthenay?
10,140 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (10,300).
How old are Parthenay’s residents?
The median age is 50, older than 83% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Parthenay?
170, with occasional dwellings: 2.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Parthenay?
INSEE counts 740 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.3% of residents, and 540 foreign nationals (5.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Parthenay?
€22,680 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% 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 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.