Older than 99% of compared French towns: half of Roscanvel is over 61.4
Here 0.3% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. Roscanvel has fewer households without a car than 94% of compared French towns, at 4.1%. There were 450 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 855 residents. Census figures put couples with children at 11% in the town.
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 Roscanvel
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 480 second homes and occasional dwellings in Roscanvel, 52% of its 930 homes: higher than in 97% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Roscanvel’s residents are under 61.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Roscanvel ranks above 97% of compared French towns on second homes: 52%
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
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Roscanvel has 1.8%. Households in social housing make up about one in 67 here (1.5%). On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Roscanvel changed by −2% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 79% 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
Over those years, the median Finistère town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%.
42% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% 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
■ Roscanvel 61.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 4.5% in Roscanvel. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Finistère 51.7%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 98% of compared French towns: 5.1%
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
One-person households: 42%, above just over three quarters of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. Average household size: 1.8 people.
The median resident lives on €27,730 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.
Half of residents live in households above €27,730 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 68% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 52%, a higher share than 98% 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: 2.1% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. Just over one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
4.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 70% 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 share of foreign nationals trails 63% of compared French towns: 3.1%. To put it in context, 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.
In Roscanvel, 51% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 95% 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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Roscanvel comes in at 21%. As a yardstick, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
13% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 83% 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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Roscanvel has 38%. As a reference point, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (855 to 2,582 people), the 2nd 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
No nearby town is as old as Roscanvel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roscanvel | 61.4 | 42% | 52% | 4.3% |
| Plouzané 13,567 · 4.6 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 1.4% | 3% |
| Crozon 7,499 · 5.5 mi | 57.1 | 36% | 42% | 2.5% |
| Locmaria-Plouzané 5,130 · 5.9 mi | 45.6 | 20% | 9.5% | 2.1% |
| Brest 142,346 · 6.2 mi | 35 | 18% | 4% | 8.6% |
| Plougonvelin 4,521 · 7.7 mi | 50.8 | 28% | 32% | 2.1% |
| Guilers 8,268 · 7.7 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 0.7% | 1.8% |
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 Roscanvel
What is the population of Roscanvel?
855 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (876).
How old are Roscanvel’s residents?
The median age is 61.4, older than 99% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Roscanvel?
480, with occasional dwellings: 52% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Roscanvel?
INSEE counts 37 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 26 foreign nationals (3.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Roscanvel?
€27,730 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.