A higher share of second homes than 95% of compared French towns, at 29%
By its share of households headed by a retired person (54%), Brennilis is above 99% of compared French towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, Brennilis sits lower than 96% of compared French towns: 7.3%. 454 residents in 230 households: that is Brennilis at the 2023 Census. Locally, 1.6% of homes are flats.
Throughout this page, the Finistère 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 Brennilis
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Brennilis, 29% of its 370 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes make up 10% in Brennilis, more than in 80% 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
6.5% of households moved in less than two years ago; 21% have been in their home 30 years or more. Lower than in 77% of compared French towns: 6.4% of households have no car. The benchmark for empty homes in the typical compared French town: 6.7%. Here 7.8% of households rent social housing (HLM), where the figure in the typical compared French town is 12%.
Slower growth than 76% of compared French towns: Brennilis changed by −2% since 2012
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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was −4%; from 2017 to 2023, +2%.
Older than 83% of compared French towns: half of Brennilis is over 49.9
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Brennilis 49.9. The median compared French town: 44.
27% of residents are 65 or over; in the typical compared French town the figure is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Finistère 51.7%, France 51.8%.
Fewer couples with children than 82% of compared French towns: 18%
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 Finistère 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 Brennilis comes in at 43%. Single-parent households are more common here than in 65% of compared French towns. Couples with children make up 25% in the typical compared French town. There are 2 people in the average household.
Standard of living at the median: €21,900 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 €21,900 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 89% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 6.6%, a lower share than 72% 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
Locally, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. Elsewhere, 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).
Immigrants: 3.9%, a lower share than 74% 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.
The census found that 3.5% of residents are foreign nationals in Brennilis. The usual figure: 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.
Fewer married residents than 89% of compared French towns: 35%
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
On the census count, just over a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. In the median compared French town 43% are married and 6.1% in a PACS; here it is 35% and 5.3%, and 8.7% are widowed.
Adults with no qualification make up 14% in Brennilis, less than in 77% 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
Graduates of higher education make up 25%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
14th highest median age among 41 French towns of 454 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Brennilis
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brennilis | 49.9 | 27% | 29% | 3.9% |
| Pleyber-Christ 3,166 · 10.6 mi | 46.5 | 26% | 7.3% | 2.3% |
| Pleyben 3,692 · 10.6 mi | 46.6 | 23% | 4.6% | 2.7% |
| Saint-Thégonnec Loc-Eguiner 3,148 · 11.7 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 4.2% | 2.4% |
| Châteauneuf-du-Faou 3,651 · 11.7 mi | 51.2 | 30% | 15% | 7.4% |
| Plougonven 3,382 · 12.8 mi | 49 | 28% | 7.1% | 1.9% |
| Plourin-lès-Morlaix 4,548 · 13 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 2.5% | 2.6% |
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 Brennilis
What is the population of Brennilis?
454 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (461).
How old are Brennilis’ residents?
The median age is 49.9, older than 83% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Brennilis?
110, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Brennilis?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.9% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (3.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Brennilis?
€21,900 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 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.