Older than 98% of compared French towns: half of Bréhal is over 60.1
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Bréhal comes in at 54%. This Manche town had 3,487 residents in 1,810 households at the 2023 Census. The census found that 15% of households are couples with children in the town. On flats, Bréhal sits lower than 87% of compared French towns: 9.9%.
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 Bréhal
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 900 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bréhal, 31% of its 2,900 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Bréhal’s residents are under 60.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 31% of homes are second homes
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
11% of households arrived within the last two years, while 15% have stayed 30 years or more. Lower than in 77% of compared French towns: 7% of households rent social housing (HLM). In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes. By its share of households without a car (9%), Bréhal is below three fifths of compared French towns.
A growing town: +14% since 2012, faster than 79% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Manche town ±0%. The first five years brought +11%; the six to 2023, +2%.
In Bréhal, 42% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% 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
■ Bréhal 60.1. The median compared French town: 44.
7.3% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. By way of comparison, 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.
Fewer single-parent households than 94% of compared French towns: 6.3%
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
There are 1.9 people in the average household. One-person households are more common here than in 73% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for single-parent households is 10% in the typical compared French town.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €27,310 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 residents live in households above €27,310 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 64% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 9.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 5.8% in Bréhal, less than in 78% 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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 9.4% in Bréhal.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.4%, a lower share than 97% 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.
The median compared commune in Manche has 2.4%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 97% of compared French towns. Against that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. For Bréhal, the census puts foreign nationals at 0.7%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Bréhal ranks below 98% of compared French towns on single residents: 18%
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
By its share of married residents (51%), Bréhal is above 95% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Bréhal sits below 64% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (26%)
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
In Bréhal, 20% of adults out of school have no qualification. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 3,457 to 3,518 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 36.6 in Sainte-Geneviève to 60.1 in Bréhal.
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Bréhal
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bréhal | 60.1 | 42% | 31% | 1.4% |
| Donville-les-Bains 3,146 · 4 mi | 57.5 | 38% | 26% | 1.9% |
| Granville 12,510 · 4.8 mi | 58.9 | 41% | 25% | 3% |
| Quettreville-sur-Sienne 3,167 · 6.2 mi | 47.1 | 24% | 9.5% | 2% |
| Saint-Pair-sur-Mer 4,507 · 6.3 mi | 60.5 | 41% | 40% | 2.2% |
| Sartilly-Baie-Bocage 2,778 · 10.5 mi | 49 | 29% | 8.9% | 1% |
| Agon-Coutainville 3,020 · 10.6 mi | 63.8 | 48% | 53% | 2.3% |
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 Bréhal
What is the population of Bréhal?
3,487 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% more than in 2012 (3,070).
How old are Bréhal’s residents?
The median age is 60.1, older than 98% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bréhal?
900, with occasional dwellings: 31% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bréhal?
INSEE counts 50 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 24 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bréhal?
€27,310 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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 October 30, 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.