Older than 95% of compared French towns: half of Pontorson is over 55.7
Households headed by a retired person make up 52%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census, 4,280 people lived in Pontorson, in 2,120 households. About one in 17: that is how common households in social housing are in Pontorson (5.8%). Lower than in 83% of compared French towns: 18% of households are couples with children.
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 Pontorson
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 370 second homes and occasional dwellings in Pontorson, 13% of its 2,780 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 82% 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 Pontorson’s residents are under 55.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Pontorson had 4,584 residents at the 2012 census and 4,280 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of second homes than 90% of compared French towns: 13%
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
Flats: 17%, below 73% of compared French towns. About one in ten: that is how common empty homes are in Pontorson (10%). Compared with other places, households without a car are common here: 11%, more than in 52% of compared French towns. For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%.
Pontorson changed by −7% from 2012 to 2023, behind 92% 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, −5% to 2017 and −1% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% in Manche.
Pontorson sits above 96% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (37%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Pontorson 55.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 8.3% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
6% of households are single parents, fewer than in 96% 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
On average, 1.9 people share a household. Higher than in 83% of compared French towns: 45% of households are one person living alone. Elsewhere, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €24,150 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,150 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 70% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 14.0%.
Below 94% of compared French towns: 3.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
On households headed by a manual worker, Pontorson sits lower than 55% of compared French towns: 13%. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 63% of compared French towns, at 5%
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 63% of compared French towns. For comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The census found that 4.4% of residents are foreign nationals in Pontorson.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer married residents than 65% of compared French towns: 41%
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
Where 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, Pontorson has 27%. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Graduates of higher education make up 18% in Pontorson, less than in 92% 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
In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Pontorson, 27%. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 3rd oldest of 41 French towns this size
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 37.1 in Nanteuil-le-Haudouin to 65.3 in Courseulles-sur-Mer.
Pontorson is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontorson | 55.7 | 37% | 13% | 5% |
| Saint-James 5,018 · 6.9 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 7.6% | 2.9% |
| Val-Couesnon 4,072 · 7.4 mi | 51 | 30% | 8.5% | 2.9% |
| Ducey-Les Chéris 2,784 · 10.6 mi | 51.6 | 31% | 4.8% | 2% |
| Avranches 10,143 · 10.9 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 4.3% | 6.3% |
| Dol-de-Bretagne 5,829 · 11.7 mi | 47.9 | 27% | 4.4% | 1.9% |
| Maen Roch 5,088 · 12.1 mi | 44.7 | 23% | 2.5% | 5.4% |
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 Pontorson
What is the population of Pontorson?
4,280 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (4,584).
How old are Pontorson’s residents?
The median age is 55.7, older than 95% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Pontorson?
370, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Pontorson?
INSEE counts 220 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5% of residents, and 190 foreign nationals (4.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Pontorson?
€24,150 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 14.0% 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 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.