Désertines is older than 92% of compared French towns: a median age of 53.9
Households headed by a retired person make up 45%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. In 2023, the Census found 468 residents in Désertines, living in 230 households. 0.7% of homes are flats. Few places have so few households without a car: 5.6% here, fewer than in 83% of compared French towns.
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 Désertines
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 52 second homes and occasional dwellings in Désertines, 17% of its 310 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 98% 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
Désertines had 522 residents at the 2012 census and 468 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Désertines’ residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
0.4% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer 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
Of all households, 11% moved in during the last two years and 28% have stayed three decades or more. The wider picture: 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. 17% of homes are second homes, a higher share than in 92% of compared French towns. Désertines sits close to the norm on empty homes: 7.5%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Désertines’s population moved −10% on 2012, less than in 97% 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 Mayenne town ±0%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 77% of compared French towns, at 27%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Désertines 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (9.2%), Désertines is below 78% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
Désertines ranks below 91% of compared French towns on couples with children: 15%
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
Each household has 2 people on average. More one-person households than in 63% of compared French towns: 38%. Typically, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, against 11% in Désertines.
€24,520 a year: the median standard of living
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 median standard of living in Désertines is €24,520 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 66% of compared French towns.
Above 57% of compared French towns: 15% of households are headed by a manual worker
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. Across the comparison, 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).
Foreign nationals make up 14% in Désertines, more than in 90% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%; Désertines has 14%. Immigrants make up a share higher than in 83% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Mayenne has 3.1%. The benchmark for foreign nationals in the typical compared French town: 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Désertines sits above 96% of compared French towns for married residents (52%)
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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 19% of residents 15 and over are single in Désertines. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 90% 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
Where nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Désertines has 26%. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 468 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Median age: 3 of the 6 towns around Désertines 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Désertines | 53.9 | 27% | 17% | 14% |
| Mortain-Bocage 2,961 · 11 mi | 56.7 | 36% | 11% | 7.7% |
| Louvigné-du-Désert 3,346 · 11.4 mi | 52.7 | 33% | 3.9% | 3.6% |
| Ernée 5,499 · 12.1 mi | 50.2 | 31% | 2.6% | 2.3% |
| Ambrières-les-Vallées 2,619 · 12.2 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 7.5% | 3.1% |
| Grandparigny 2,605 · 12.7 mi | 54.9 | 32% | 5.1% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët 5,770 · 12.9 mi | 56.7 | 37% | 6.1% | 2.7% |
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 Désertines
What is the population of Désertines?
468 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (522).
How old are Désertines’ residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Désertines?
52, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Désertines?
INSEE counts 66 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 14% of residents, and 64 foreign nationals (14%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Désertines?
€24,520 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.