Half of Le Mesnil is over 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns
Households headed by a retired person make up 56%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Le Mesnil’s 88 households held 189 residents at the 2023 Census. Put another way, about one in 16: 6.2% of households have no car. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 Le Mesnil
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 25 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Mesnil, 21% of its 120 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Mesnil had 207 residents at the 2012 census and 189 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Le Mesnil’s residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 21%, a higher share than 93% 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
One household in 16 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Lower than in 81% of compared French towns: 6.2% of households rent social housing (HLM). Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. The share of empty homes stands at 6.3%.
Slower than most: −9% since 2012, behind 96% 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
The first five years brought +6%; the six to 2023, −14%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Manche town ±0%.
In Le Mesnil, 28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 79% 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
■ Le Mesnil 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 10% in Le Mesnil, about one in ten. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 19% in Le Mesnil, less than in 79% of compared French towns
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
31% of households are one person living alone, against 35% in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.1 people each.
Median standard of living: €22,680 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 €22,680 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 84% of compared French towns.
Le Mesnil sits above 79% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (19%)
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. The benchmark for households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town: 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Le Mesnil ranks below 94% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1.7%
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 figure for foreign nationals is 1.2% in Le Mesnil and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 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.
Single residents: 20%, a lower share than 93% 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
The figure for married residents is 50% in Le Mesnil and 43% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Only 22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Le Mesnil
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
Roughly two in ten: 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 189 to 2,582 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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Median age: 2 of the 6 towns around Le Mesnil 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Mesnil | 53.9 | 28% | 21% | 1.7% |
| Port-Bail-sur-Mer 2,520 · 2.6 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 52% | 2.4% |
| Bricquebec-en-Cotentin 5,893 · 7.3 mi | 47 | 25% | 4.6% | 1.3% |
| La Haye 4,029 · 7.8 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 21% | 2.5% |
| Les Pieux 3,249 · 11.2 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 15% | 2.7% |
| Picauville 3,228 · 12.9 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| Valognes 6,969 · 13.8 mi | 51 | 29% | 2.4% | 1.6% |
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 Le Mesnil
What is the population of Le Mesnil?
189 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (207).
How old are Le Mesnil’s residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Mesnil?
25, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Mesnil?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Mesnil?
€22,680 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.