A smaller share of flats than 99% of compared French towns: 1.8%
In Brillevast, 30% of households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. Meanwhile, on residents aged 15 to 24, Brillevast sits lower than 98% of compared French towns: 6.6%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 318, in 150 households. Across Brillevast, 3.5% of homes stand empty.
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 Brillevast
Fewer residents than in 2012
Brillevast had 344 residents at the 2012 census and 318 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −8% since 2012 leaves Brillevast behind 94% 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
In two steps, −6% to 2017 and −2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% in Manche.
Half of Brillevast is over 49.6, older than 82% 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
■ Brillevast 49.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Brillevast has 24%.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Below 72% of compared French towns: 31% of households are one person living alone
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
22% of households are couples with children; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. Set beside that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Each household has 2.1 people on average. Few places have so few single-parent households: 9.9% here, fewer than in just over half of compared French towns.
Brillevast ranks above 87% of compared French towns on second homes: 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Put another way, about one in 21: 4.8% of households have no car. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Some 5.9% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 29% who have been there 30 years or more.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €25,320 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.
The median standard of living in Brillevast is €25,320 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
Above 91% of compared French towns: 44% of households are headed by a retired person
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. On average, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.6%, a lower share than 96% 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 96% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Foreign nationals account for 1.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns: 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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Brillevast, 48%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 86% 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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 76% of compared French towns: 25%. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Of 41 French towns its size (318 to 2,582 people), the 14th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Older than Brillevast: 2 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brillevast | 49.6 | 24% | 8.7% | 1.6% |
| Valognes 6,969 · 8.4 mi | 51 | 29% | 2.4% | 1.6% |
| Cherbourg-en-Cotentin 78,258 · 9.9 mi | 43.6 | 22% | 3.6% | 4.9% |
| Bricquebec-en-Cotentin 5,893 · 14.9 mi | 47 | 25% | 4.6% | 1.3% |
| Sainte-Mère-Église 2,896 · 15.6 mi | 53.1 | 31% | 18% | 1.6% |
| Picauville 3,228 · 17.2 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| La Hague 11,484 · 17.2 mi | 45.5 | 19% | 14% | 1.1% |
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 Brillevast
What is the population of Brillevast?
318 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (344).
How old are Brillevast’s residents?
The median age is 49.6, older than 82% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Brillevast?
15, with occasional dwellings: 8.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Brillevast?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Brillevast?
€25,320 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.