In Avranches, 14% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns
The median age in Avranches is 49.6, higher than in 82% of compared French towns. 10,143 residents in 5,390 households: that is Avranches at the 2023 Census. Across Avranches, a quarter of households rent social housing (HLM). Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, nearly two in five households are headed by a retired person here.
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 Avranches
Many people living alone
52% of Avranches’ households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: ±0% since 2012, behind 71% 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
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 86% of compared French towns, at 30%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Avranches 49.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops two thirds of compared French towns: 12%. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Avranches sits above 96% of compared French towns for one-person households (52%)
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 typical household size is 1.8 people. On the census count, 7.1% of households are single parents. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%.
19% of households have no car, more than in 80% 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
Second homes: 4.3%, above 73% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town. Flats come to 49% in Avranches, about five in ten. On empty homes, Avranches sits higher than 51% of compared French towns: 6.8%.
Half above, half below €24,780 a year in standard of living
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.
The median standard of living in Avranches is €24,780 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 63% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 15.0%.
Only 7.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Avranches
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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 15% of households are headed by a manual worker in Avranches. By way of comparison, 9.4% of 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).
In Avranches, 5.5% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 60% 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.
That is lower than in just over half of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Manche has 2.4%. As a reference point, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Immigrants: 6.3% of the total.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 36% of residents 15 and over are married in Avranches
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
The figure for single residents is 31% in Avranches and 25% in the typical compared French town. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Avranches sits above 71% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (23%)
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
Graduates of higher education come to 30% in Avranches, about three in ten. To put it in context, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 4th 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 Serris (33.5), the oldest Mazamet (51.2).
Avranches and its 6 nearest towns: 3 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avranches | 49.6 | 30% | 4.3% | 6.3% |
| Ducey-Les Chéris 2,784 · 5.3 mi | 51.6 | 31% | 4.8% | 2% |
| Sartilly-Baie-Bocage 2,778 · 6.7 mi | 49 | 29% | 8.9% | 1% |
| Isigny-le-Buat 3,183 · 9 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 11% | 3.6% |
| Pontorson 4,280 · 10.9 mi | 55.7 | 37% | 13% | 5% |
| Saint-James 5,018 · 11 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 7.6% | 2.9% |
| Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny 3,903 · 12.2 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 8.2% | 5.4% |
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 Avranches
What is the population of Avranches?
10,143 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (10,183).
How old are Avranches’ residents?
The median age is 49.6, older than 82% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Avranches?
260, with occasional dwellings: 4.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Avranches?
INSEE counts 640 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.3% of residents, and 550 foreign nationals (5.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Avranches?
€24,780 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 15.0% 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 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.