A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 0.8%
In Mers-sur-Indre, 2.7% of homes stand empty, beside 6.7% in the typical compared French town. This Indre town is home to 659 residents in 290 households, by the 2023 Census. Here, 2.8% of households have no car. Higher than in 80% of compared French towns: 31% of households are couples with children.
Throughout this page, the Indre 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 Mers-sur-Indre
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 79 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mers-sur-Indre, 21% of its 380 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 96% 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.
Mers-sur-Indre sits below 99% of compared French towns for households in social housing (0.7%)
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 6.6% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 23%. Households in social housing make up 12% in the typical compared French town. More second homes than in 93% of compared French towns: 21%.
From 2012 to 2023, 72% of compared French towns grew faster than Mers-sur-Indre: ±0%
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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −1%, then +1% to 2023. Over those years, the median Indre town changed −5% and the median compared French town +5%.
Mers-sur-Indre is older than 78% of compared French towns: a median age of 48.7
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mers-sur-Indre 48.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.1% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. In Mers-sur-Indre, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Indre 53.6%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 8.8%, a lower share than 70% of compared French towns
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 Indre median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. The usual figure: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. One-person households: 34% here and 35% in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €24,870 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.
Half of Mers-sur-Indre’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,870 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 62% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 83% of compared French towns, at 5.3%
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
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Mers-sur-Indre has 17%. 32% of households are headed by a retired person. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten 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).
Fewer immigrants than 87% of compared French towns: 2.4%
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.
1.7% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. Set beside that, 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.
A larger share of single residents than 57% of compared French towns: 26%
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
Married residents account for 43%. Against that, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In Mers-sur-Indre, 14% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer 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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 26% in Mers-sur-Indre and 30% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
15th highest median age among 41 French towns of 659 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.
Around Mers-sur-Indre, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mers-sur-Indre | 48.7 | 23% | 21% | 2.4% |
| Ardentes 3,715 · 6.2 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 4% | 2.4% |
| La Châtre 4,037 · 7.9 mi | 56.2 | 39% | 6.5% | 4.6% |
| Le Poinçonnet 5,855 · 10.8 mi | 53.2 | 30% | 1.9% | 4.4% |
| Châteauroux 42,963 · 13.1 mi | 45.2 | 26% | 2.7% | 12% |
| Déols 7,600 · 14.6 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 1.3% | 5.3% |
| Saint-Maur 3,537 · 15.1 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 2.2% | 3.3% |
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 Mers-sur-Indre
What is the population of Mers-sur-Indre?
659 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (662).
How old are Mers-sur-Indre’s residents?
The median age is 48.7, older than 78% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mers-sur-Indre?
79, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mers-sur-Indre?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (1.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mers-sur-Indre?
€24,870 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.