1.2% of homes are flats, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
9.6% of homes are second homes; in the typical compared French town the figure is 2.1%. Households in social housing make up about one in 36 here (2.8%). At 38%, the share of households headed by a retired person is higher than in 78% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 539 residents in Gesvres, living in 250 households.
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 Gesvres
Empty homes
The census found 50 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Gesvres’s population moved −1% on 2012, less than in 72% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% for the median Mayenne town, the change came in two steps: −4% from 2012 to 2017, then +4% to 2023.
6.1% of residents are 15 to 24, below 99% 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
■ Gesvres 47.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Gesvres’s residents are over 47.2, older than in 70% of compared French towns. For comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Locally, 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 28% in Gesvres, more than in 63% 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
There are 2.2 people in the average household. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone here.
More empty homes than 95% of compared French towns: 15%
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
4.8% of households have no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €22,980 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.
At €22,980 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 2%, a lower share than 99% 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
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Gesvres comes in at 16%. On average, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 95% of compared French towns: 1.7%
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 median compared commune in Mayenne has 3.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town. Foreign nationals account for 0.9%.
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 92% of compared French towns: 20%
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 49% in Gesvres. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Only 16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Gesvres
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
In the typical compared French town, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification; in Gesvres, 29%. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 539 to 2,582 people, the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Around Gesvres, 5 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gesvres | 47.2 | 23% | 9.6% | 1.7% |
| Villaines-la-Juhel 2,671 · 6.4 mi | 57.5 | 38% | 3.9% | 3.3% |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis 3,636 · 10.5 mi | 54 | 35% | 1.4% | 5% |
| Alençon 25,490 · 11.8 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.1% | 12% |
| Fresnay-sur-Sarthe 2,928 · 11.8 mi | 51 | 33% | 7% | 2.2% |
| Rives d'Andaine 2,844 · 17.5 mi | 54.6 | 31% | 10% | 3.4% |
| Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie 2,699 · 17.8 mi | 61.9 | 45% | 54% | 7.1% |
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 Gesvres
What is the population of Gesvres?
539 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (542).
How old are Gesvres’ residents?
The median age is 47.2, older than 70% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Gesvres?
32, with occasional dwellings: 9.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Gesvres?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Gesvres?
€22,980 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.