Fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns: 0.5%
3% of households rent social housing (HLM), against 12% in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manual worker are more common here than in 98% of compared French towns. Montsenelle had 1,450 residents in 640 households at the 2023 Census. Census figures put households without a car at 5.6% here.
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 Montsenelle
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Montsenelle, 13% of its 830 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 99% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Montsenelle, 13% of homes are second homes, more than in 90% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 23% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 8.5% (under two years). For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Few places have as many empty homes: 9.6% here, more than in 77% of compared French towns.
Montsenelle changed by +4% from 2012 to 2023, behind 53% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Manche town ±0%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was +1%; from 2017 to 2023, +3%.
Montsenelle is older than 78% of compared French towns: a median age of 48.7
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montsenelle 48.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, 25% of residents are 65 or over here. For Montsenelle, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.8%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Fewer single-parent households than 90% of compared French towns: 7%
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
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 33% of households are one person living alone here. The benchmark for single-parent households in the typical compared French town: 10%. There are 2.2 people in the average household.
At the median, €24,050 a year to live on
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 €24,050 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
5.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 81% 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 figure for households headed by a retired person is 35% in Montsenelle and 32% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten 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).
Below 81% of compared French towns: 3.1% of residents are immigrants
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 share of foreign nationals is 2.8%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
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 89% 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
On the census count, 42% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns, at 14%
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
Just over a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 1,450 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Montsenelle is younger than 4 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montsenelle | 48.7 | 25% | 13% | 3.1% |
| Picauville 3,228 · 5.3 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| La Haye 4,029 · 5.5 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 21% | 2.5% |
| Sainte-Mère-Église 2,896 · 9.2 mi | 53.1 | 31% | 18% | 1.6% |
| Carentan-les-Marais 10,218 · 9.7 mi | 49.1 | 28% | 5% | 2.4% |
| Port-Bail-sur-Mer 2,520 · 11.1 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 52% | 2.4% |
| Saint-Sauveur-Villages 3,208 · 11.9 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 8.1% | 1.8% |
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 Montsenelle
What is the population of Montsenelle?
1,450 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (1,391).
How old are Montsenelle’s residents?
The median age is 48.7, older than 78% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montsenelle?
110, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montsenelle?
INSEE counts 45 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 40 foreign nationals (2.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montsenelle?
€24,050 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 9, 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.