Older than 99% of compared French towns: half of Saint-Germain-sur-Ay is over 61.4
Households headed by a retired person: 52%, above 98% of compared French towns. The share of households in social housing stands at 2.6%. On couples with children, Saint-Germain-sur-Ay sits lower than 86% of compared French towns: 16%. The 2023 Census counted 926 residents in 480 households.
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 Saint-Germain-sur-Ay
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 930 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay, 64% of its 1,450 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 96% 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 Saint-Germain-sur-Ay’s residents are under 61.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Saint-Germain-sur-Ay, 64% of homes are second homes, more than in 99% 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 17 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Census figures put flats at 1.1% in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay. The town has fewer empty homes than 95% of compared French towns, at 3.1%. Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
A change of +3% since 2012 leaves Saint-Germain-sur-Ay behind 57% 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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Manche town ±0%. The change was +1% from 2012 to 2017 and +2% from 2017 to 2023.
Saint-Germain-sur-Ay sits above 98% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (42%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Germain-sur-Ay 61.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 4.3% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. As a yardstick, 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%.
Single-parent households make up 5.1% in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay, less than in 99% 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. The wider picture: 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. The share of one-person households is 34%, against 35% in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €27,330 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 midpoint of living standards here is €27,330 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 64% of compared French towns.
Only 8.3% of households are headed by a manual worker in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Saint-Germain-sur-Ay has 8.2%. 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).
In Saint-Germain-sur-Ay, 4.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 69% 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 69% of compared French towns. Typically, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. 3.2% of residents are foreign nationals, or about one in 31.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Saint-Germain-sur-Ay ranks below 99% of compared French towns on single residents: 15%
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
56% of residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 68% 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
Adults with no qualification account for 18%. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
41 French towns of 926 to 2,582 people: this is the 2nd 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).
Of the 6 towns nearest Saint-Germain-sur-Ay, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Germain-sur-Ay | 61.4 | 42% | 64% | 4.4% |
| La Haye 4,029 · 4.9 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 21% | 2.5% |
| Port-Bail-sur-Mer 2,520 · 7.4 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 52% | 2.4% |
| Gouville-sur-Mer 3,274 · 9.6 mi | 56 | 36% | 26% | 1.5% |
| Saint-Sauveur-Villages 3,208 · 12 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 8.1% | 1.8% |
| Agon-Coutainville 3,020 · 13.3 mi | 63.8 | 48% | 53% | 2.3% |
| Picauville 3,228 · 13.9 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
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 Saint-Germain-sur-Ay
What is the population of Saint-Germain-sur-Ay?
926 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (897).
How old are Saint-Germain-sur-Ay’s residents?
The median age is 61.4, older than 99% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay?
930, with occasional dwellings: 64% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay?
INSEE counts 41 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.4% of residents, and 30 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Germain-sur-Ay?
€27,330 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.