A town of second homes: 4.9% of its homes
Where 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Mer has 37%. Census day 2023: 6,250 residents and 2,860 households locally. About one in 11: that is how common empty homes are in Mer (9.1%). Few places have as many residents aged 65 and over: 25% here, more than in two thirds of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Loir-et-Cher 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.
A +1% change since 2012: slower than 67% 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
Half of Mer is over 44.4, older than 52% 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
■ Mer 44.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 11%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loir-et-Cher 52.4%, France 51.8%.
39% of households are one person living alone, more than in 65% 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 Loir-et-Cher median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.1 people in the average household. Lower than in 64% of compared French towns: 9.2% of households are single parents. For comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Mer sits close to the norm on couples with children: 25%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
18% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 70% 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
In Mer, 21% of homes are flats, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. Across Mer, 13% of households have no car. The benchmark for households in social housing in the typical compared French town: 12%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,010 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €24,010 a year: lower than in 71% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 17.0% of residents.
Mer ranks above 68% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 17%
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
In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Mer, 11%. On average, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals: 9.3%, a higher share than 79% 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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 72% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Loir-et-Cher has 6%. Across the comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in ten: 10% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of single residents than 62% of compared French towns, at 27%
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
Roughly four in ten: just over two in five residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Mer: 26% of adults out of school have no qualification, above 82% 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
24% of Mer’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 26% have no diploma (19%).
Ranked by age, 18th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Pont-de-Chéruy (33.9), the oldest Fleurance (54.3).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 3 are older than Mer
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mer | 44.4 | 25% | 4.9% | 10% |
| Saint-Laurent-Nouan 4,236 · 4.3 mi | 44.2 | 21% | 5.8% | 2.5% |
| Beaugency 8,024 · 7.9 mi | 43.9 | 24% | 5.1% | 11% |
| Lailly-en-Val 3,101 · 9.3 mi | 41.9 | 20% | 4.4% | 3.6% |
| La Chaussée-Saint-Victor 4,471 · 9.3 mi | 49.9 | 29% | 1.7% | 6.3% |
| Vineuil 8,064 · 10 mi | 47.9 | 27% | 1.1% | 6.1% |
| Villebarou 2,584 · 10.1 mi | 44.6 | 20% | 1.3% | 9.3% |
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 Mer
What is the population of Mer?
6,250 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (6,202).
How old are Mer’s residents?
The median age is 44.4, older than 52% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mer?
160, with occasional dwellings: 4.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mer?
INSEE counts 640 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 580 foreign nationals (9.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mer?
€24,010 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 17.0% 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.