Only 0.7% of homes are flats in Airel
In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Airel, 4.3%. Put another way, about one in 13: 7.8% of homes are second homes. More empty homes than in 84% of compared French towns: 11%. At the 2023 Census, 515 people lived locally, in 230 households.
Throughout this page, the Manche 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 Airel
Fewer residents than in 2012
Airel had 539 residents at the 2012 census and 515 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Airel’s population moved −4% on 2012, less than in 86% 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
Here the change came as +1% to 2017, then −6% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, ±0% in Manche.
A median age of 43.3: Airel is younger than 56% 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
■ Airel 43.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 10% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
6.5% of households are single parents, below 93% 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 Manche median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of one-person households tops 58% of compared French towns: 37%. For Airel, the census puts couples with children at 30%. Set beside that, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Airel ranks below 67% of compared French towns on households in social housing: 8.7%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%; Airel has 9.2%. Households in social housing make up 12% in the typical compared French town.
€24,720 a year is the median standard of living here
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.
Living standards centre on €24,720 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 64% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 26% in Airel, more than in 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
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 30% in Airel. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 88% of compared French towns: 2.3%
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Airel, 2.5%. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
23% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 67% 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
Here 42% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
15% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 97% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 25%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (515 to 2,582 people), the 12th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
5 of 6 neighbors are older than Airel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airel | 43.3 | 22% | 7.8% | 2.3% |
| Isigny-sur-Mer 3,543 · 6.6 mi | 52.4 | 30% | 7.6% | 1.3% |
| Saint-Lô 19,471 · 6.6 mi | 43.3 | 24% | 2.2% | 6.2% |
| Agneaux 4,286 · 6.6 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 1.3% | 3.2% |
| Le Molay-Littry 3,124 · 9.2 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 3.3% | 1.4% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Elle 2,516 · 9.3 mi | 43 | 20% | 2.8% | 0.9% |
| Carentan-les-Marais 10,218 · 9.7 mi | 49.1 | 28% | 5% | 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 Airel
What is the population of Airel?
515 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (539).
How old are Airel’s residents?
The median age is 43.3, younger than 56% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Airel?
22, with occasional dwellings: 7.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Airel?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (2.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Airel?
€24,720 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 4, 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.