Older than 92% of compared French towns: half of Brécey is over 53.6
The share of households headed by a retired person tops 94% of compared French towns: 46%. Across Brécey, 18% of households are couples with children. Higher than in 82% of compared French towns: 6.7% of homes are second homes. Census day 2023: 2,172 residents and 1,100 households locally.
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 Brécey
An older town
Half of Brécey’s residents are under 53.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+1% since 2012: slower than 64% 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
Brécey sits above 93% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (34%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Brécey 53.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Brécey has 9.1%. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Brécey ranks above 78% of compared French towns on one-person households: 43%
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
8.1% of households are single parents; in the typical compared French town the figure is 10%. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. The average household has 1.9 people.
A smaller share of flats than 80% of compared French towns: 14%
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
The share of households in social housing tops 65% of compared French towns: 16%. The census found that 7.7% of homes stand empty in Brécey. As a reference point, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,800 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.
Living standards centre on €22,800 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 83% of compared French towns. 13.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
3.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 97% 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
With households headed by a manual worker at 21%, Brécey is ahead of 87% of compared French towns on that count. Against that, 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).
Immigrants: 3.2%, a lower share than 80% 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.
2.8% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 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.
Brécey ranks below 83% of compared French towns on single residents: 21%
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 married residents at 44% in Brécey. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Brécey ranks above 96% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 32%
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 make up 17%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. For adults with no qualification, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 19%.
41 French towns of 2,172 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Brécey
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brécey | 53.6 | 34% | 6.7% | 3.2% |
| Isigny-le-Buat 3,183 · 7.5 mi | 44.7 | 21% | 11% | 3.6% |
| Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny 3,903 · 7.9 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 8.2% | 5.4% |
| Avranches 10,143 · 8.9 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 4.3% | 6.3% |
| Ducey-Les Chéris 2,784 · 9.1 mi | 51.6 | 31% | 4.8% | 2% |
| Grandparigny 2,605 · 10 mi | 54.9 | 32% | 5.1% | 2.5% |
| Noues de Sienne 4,207 · 10 mi | 51.8 | 28% | 12% | 4.9% |
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 Brécey
What is the population of Brécey?
2,172 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (2,142).
How old are Brécey’s residents?
The median age is 53.6, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Brécey?
87, with occasional dwellings: 6.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Brécey?
INSEE counts 69 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 61 foreign nationals (2.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Brécey?
€22,800 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.0% 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.