2% of households have no car, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of flats in Forcé comes in at 1.9%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 1,099, in 440 households. The census found that 0.5% of households rent social housing (HLM) locally. 22% of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 98% 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 Forcé
A town of families
34% of households are couples with children and 3.4% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +12% change since 2012: Forcé grew faster than 75% 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
Forcé sits below 69% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (19%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Forcé 42.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.4%, below three quarters of compared French towns. The median age in Forcé is 42.2, lower than in 64% 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
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 3.4%
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
25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, against 34% in Forcé. The wider picture: 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.5 people share a household.
Below 82% of compared French towns: 4.4% of homes stand empty
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, 5% moved in during the last two years and 26% have stayed three decades or more. On second homes, Forcé sits higher than 53% of compared French towns: 2.3%. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €27,590 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 Forcé’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €27,590 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 67% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 94% of compared French towns, at 24%
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
5.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in three: 37% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of foreign nationals than 98% of compared French towns: 0.7%
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 figure for immigrants is 2.9% in Forcé and 6.5% in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 83% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Mayenne has 3.1%. The comparison figure for foreign nationals is 4.3% 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.
Fewer single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 17%
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
Here 55% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Only 12% of adults out of school have no qualification in Forcé
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
Graduates of higher education: 35%, above 67% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 9th youngest 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Forcé and its 6 nearest towns: 5 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forcé | 42.2 | 19% | 2.3% | 2.9% |
| Bonchamp-lès-Laval 6,302 · 2.9 mi | 48.1 | 25% | 0.8% | 3.1% |
| L'Huisserie 4,672 · 3.4 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 1.3% | 3.9% |
| Laval 49,400 · 4.2 mi | 40.4 | 23% | 3.2% | 10% |
| Argentré 2,906 · 4.5 mi | 42.3 | 18% | 0.9% | 1.7% |
| Louverné 4,344 · 6.1 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 0.4% | 2.7% |
| Changé 6,502 · 6.2 mi | 45.9 | 24% | 1.5% | 3.1% |
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 Forcé
What is the population of Forcé?
1,099 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (983).
How old are Forcé’s residents?
The median age is 42.2, younger than 64% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Forcé?
11, with occasional dwellings: 2.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Forcé?
INSEE counts 32 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Forcé?
€27,590 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 October 30, 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.