La Colombe sits below 99% of compared French towns for flats (0.3%)
Where 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, La Colombe has 26%. Households without a car are rarer here than in 96% of compared French towns. There were 270 households here at the 2023 Census, home to 626 residents. The share of households headed by a manual worker stands at 24%.
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 La Colombe
Empty homes
The census found 38 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 61% of compared French towns: La Colombe changed by +2% since 2012
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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +3%, then −1% to 2023. Over those years, the median Manche town changed ±0% and the median compared French town +5%.
La Colombe sits below 82% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (8.9%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Colombe 45.3. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 45.3, La Colombe is older than 58% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 22% here.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Above 64% of compared French towns: 28% of households are couples with children
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
Where 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, La Colombe has 11%. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. The average household has 2.3 people.
12% of homes stand empty, more than in 87% 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
Just over a fifth of households have been in place 30 years or more; 11% moved in within the last two years. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of second homes tops 80% of compared French towns: 5.8%.
€25,740 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.
At €25,740 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 52% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 3.7% in La Colombe, less than in 94% 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
The share of households headed by a retired person is 37%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
La Colombe ranks below 99% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1.1%
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 99% of compared French towns. Across La Colombe, 0.6% of residents are foreign nationals. To put it in context, 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.
15% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% 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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 49% of residents 15 and over are married here. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
21% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 82% 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
Compared with other places, adults with no qualification are common here: 19%, more than in 53% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
Among 41 French towns of 626 to 2,582 people, the 21st 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).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 5 are older than La Colombe
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Colombe | 45.3 | 22% | 5.8% | 1.1% |
| Percy-en-Normandie 2,641 · 2.9 mi | 50.5 | 31% | 6.3% | 4.1% |
| Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny 3,903 · 3 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 8.2% | 5.4% |
| Noues de Sienne 4,207 · 8 mi | 51.8 | 28% | 12% | 4.9% |
| Bourgvallées 3,326 · 12.6 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 3.3% | 2.1% |
| Quettreville-sur-Sienne 3,167 · 13.7 mi | 47.1 | 24% | 9.5% | 2% |
| Torigny-les-Villes 4,444 · 14 mi | 45.4 | 25% | 2.6% | 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 La Colombe
What is the population of La Colombe?
626 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (614).
How old are La Colombe’s residents?
The median age is 45.3, older than 58% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Colombe?
19, with occasional dwellings: 5.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Colombe?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.1% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Colombe?
€25,740 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.