Second homes: 20%, a higher share than 93% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 246 residents in Carelles, living in 120 households. For Carelles, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 43%. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 97% of compared French towns: 6.9%.
Throughout this page, the Mayenne 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 Carelles
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 38 second homes and occasional dwellings in Carelles, 20% of its 190 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
Carelles had 271 residents at the 2012 census and 246 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 32 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Carelles’ residents are under 51.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes: 17%, a higher share than 98% 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
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty. Households without a car: 7.6% of the total. Car-free households: one in 13, where the median compared French town has 11%.
−9% since 2012, a pace below 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
Here the change came as −1% to 2017, then −8% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, ±0% in Mayenne.
Older than 88% of compared French towns: half of Carelles is over 51.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Carelles 51.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 22% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Carelles comes in at 31%.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
Below 66% of compared French towns: 22% 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 Mayenne median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2.1 people on average. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. One-person households make up 35%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
A median of €24,250 a year per consumption unit
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €24,250 a year: lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
17% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 71% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of foreign nationals than 87% of compared French towns: 12%
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 Mayenne has 3.1%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 79% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, foreign nationals come to 4.3%. 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 12% in Carelles.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Carelles ranks above 99% of compared French towns on married residents: 56%
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
20% of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Carelles ranks below 91% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 18%
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: 28% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
The 10th oldest of 41 French towns of 246 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.
Carelles is younger than 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carelles | 51.5 | 31% | 20% | 12% |
| Ernée 5,499 · 6.3 mi | 50.2 | 31% | 2.6% | 2.3% |
| Louvigné-du-Désert 3,346 · 12.3 mi | 52.7 | 33% | 3.9% | 3.6% |
| Ambrières-les-Vallées 2,619 · 12.5 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 7.5% | 3.1% |
| Fougères 20,307 · 13.8 mi | 46.6 | 27% | 2% | 6.3% |
| Mayenne 12,883 · 14.2 mi | 47 | 28% | 1.8% | 5.3% |
| Lécousse 3,530 · 14.7 mi | 50.9 | 28% | 1.1% | 1.4% |
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 Carelles
What is the population of Carelles?
246 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (271).
How old are Carelles’ residents?
The median age is 51.5, older than 88% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Carelles?
38, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Carelles?
INSEE counts 30 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 30 foreign nationals (12%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Carelles?
€24,250 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.