Older than 93% of compared French towns: half of Craon is over 54.5
Single-parent households: 5.5% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. 4,431 residents in 2,110 households: that is Craon at the 2023 Census. The share of households headed by a retired person stands at 46%. Fewer households in social housing than in 67% of compared French towns: 8.7%.
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 Craon
An older town
Half of Craon’s residents are under 54.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 290 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −2% change since 2012: slower than 77% 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, ±0% to 2017 and −2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% in Mayenne.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 35% in Craon, more than in 93% 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
■ Craon 54.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 10% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children: 17%, a lower share than 84% 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 Mayenne median and the France median
Living alone · share
One-person households make up 39%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. Households average 2 people.
A higher share of empty homes than 87% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
In the typical compared French town, 30% of homes are flats; in Craon, 12%. Against that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. The census found that 13% of households have no car in the town. Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 2.5%, more than in 55% of compared French towns.
Median standard of living: €24,560 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,560 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 65% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 13.0%.
Households headed by a manual worker: 21%, a higher share than 88% 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
In the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional; in Craon, 5.5%. Against that, 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).
Craon ranks below 86% of compared French towns on immigrants: 2.6%
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.
In Craon, 1.9% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 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.
50% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 90% of compared French towns don’t reach
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, Craon has 21%. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 91% of compared French towns: 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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 31% of adults out of school have no qualification here. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
2nd highest median age among 41 French towns of 4,388 to 4,476
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Labège is the youngest (33); Valras-Plage the oldest (67).
No nearby town is as old as Craon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craon | 54.5 | 35% | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| Renazé 2,504 · 6.1 mi | 53.5 | 34% | 4.6% | 4.2% |
| Cossé-le-Vivien 3,174 · 6.9 mi | 45.8 | 26% | 2% | 2.2% |
| Ombrée d'Anjou 8,813 · 10.9 mi | 46.2 | 26% | 3.1% | 6% |
| Segré-en-Anjou Bleu 17,667 · 11.1 mi | 43.8 | 23% | 3.5% | 2.8% |
| Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne 16,584 · 11.5 mi | 50 | 30% | 2.1% | 3.1% |
| La Guerche-de-Bretagne 4,554 · 14.6 mi | 49.5 | 31% | 1.4% | 11% |
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 Craon
What is the population of Craon?
4,431 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (4,506).
How old are Craon’s residents?
The median age is 54.5, older than 93% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Craon?
60, with occasional dwellings: 2.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Craon?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 82 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Craon?
€24,560 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.0% 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.