40% of households are couples with children, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Households in social housing make up 2.7%, against 12% in the typical compared French town. Census day 2023: 1,028 residents and 420 households in Essé. 28% of households are headed by a manual worker. Few places have so few households without a car: 4.9% here, fewer than in 89% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ille-et-Vilaine 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 Essé
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 6.9% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Essé had 1,131 residents at the 2012 census and 1,028 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Essé’s population moved −9% on 2012, less than in 96% 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 −3%; the six to 2023, −6%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ille-et-Vilaine town +15%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 14%, a lower share than 94% 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
■ Essé 40.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Essé’s residents are under 40.5, younger than in 77% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 15 to 24: 11% of the total.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ille-et-Vilaine 51.2%, France 51.8%.
Below 90% of compared French towns: 26% of households are one person living alone
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 Ille-et-Vilaine median and the France median
Living alone · share
Here 6.9% of households are single parents, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 10%. The usual figure: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. There are 2.5 people in the average household.
Only 4% of homes are flats in Essé
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
Turnover: 7.6% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 20% have lived in their home 30 years or more. On empty homes, Essé sits lower than 68% of compared French towns: 5.5%. Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 1.8%.
The median resident lives on €26,360 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 €26,360 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 54% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 96% of compared French towns: 19%
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
9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 12% in Essé. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 95% of compared French towns: 1.6% 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.
0.6% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents: 45%, a higher share than 62% 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
Census figures put single residents at 25% in Essé. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Adults with no qualification: 11%, a lower share than 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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, against 33% in Essé. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
Among 41 French towns of 1,028 to 2,582 people, the 4th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Essé
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essé | 40.5 | 14% | 1.8% | 1.6% |
| Janzé 8,649 · 3.4 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 1.4% | 3.5% |
| Retiers 4,566 · 3.8 mi | 43.5 | 23% | 2% | 4.2% |
| Piré-Chancé 3,224 · 4.4 mi | 36.3 | 12% | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| Corps-Nuds 3,567 · 7.3 mi | 41.4 | 17% | 1.4% | 4.4% |
| Bais 2,539 · 7.5 mi | 38.2 | 19% | 2% | 2% |
| Châteaugiron 10,845 · 7.5 mi | 40.4 | 15% | 0.9% | 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 Essé
What is the population of Essé?
1,028 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (1,131).
How old are Essé’s residents?
The median age is 40.5, younger than 77% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Essé?
8, with occasional dwellings: 1.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Essé?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Essé?
€26,360 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.