Households without a car: 1.4%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.9%, below 93% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 297 residents and 130 households in Hercé. Flats account for 2.2%. On households headed by a manager or professional, Hercé sits lower than 95% of compared French towns: 3.5%.
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 Hercé
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 31 second homes and occasional dwellings in Hercé, 18% of its 180 homes: higher than in 92% 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
Hercé had 324 residents at the 2012 census and 297 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
18% of homes are second homes, more than in 92% 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, 6.5% moved in during the last two years and 22% have stayed three decades or more. Set beside that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Here 5.7% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%.
−8% since 2012: slower than 95% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −4%; 2017 to 2023, −5%.
Hercé is older than 83% of compared French towns: a median age of 50
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Hercé 50. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 28%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
Hercé ranks below 85% of compared French towns on one-person households: 28%
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
Against a figure of 10% in the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households in Hercé comes in at 11%. Set beside that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2.2 people. Fewer couples with children than in 57% of compared French towns: 24%.
€23,790 a year is the median standard of living here
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 midpoint of living standards here is €23,790 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 74% of compared French towns.
Hercé sits above 79% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (19%)
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
The share of households headed by a retired person tops 70% of compared French towns: 36%. The wider picture: 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).
Hercé sits above 66% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (6.3%)
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.
About one in 16: that is how common immigrants are in Hercé (6.3%). That is lower than in 51% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Mayenne has 3.1%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents make up 16% in Hercé, less than in 99% of compared French towns
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
The share of married residents tops 96% of compared French towns: 52%. For comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Only 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Hercé
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
Just over a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 297 to 2,582 people, the 14th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Hercé
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hercé | 50 | 28% | 18% | 6.3% |
| Ernée 5,499 · 9.1 mi | 50.2 | 31% | 2.6% | 2.3% |
| Ambrières-les-Vallées 2,619 · 10.3 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 7.5% | 3.1% |
| Louvigné-du-Désert 3,346 · 13.3 mi | 52.7 | 33% | 3.9% | 3.6% |
| Mayenne 12,883 · 13.4 mi | 47 | 28% | 1.8% | 5.3% |
| Mortain-Bocage 2,961 · 14.6 mi | 56.7 | 36% | 11% | 7.7% |
| Domfront en Poiraie 4,113 · 15.1 mi | 57.7 | 36% | 6% | 4.6% |
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 Hercé
What is the population of Hercé?
297 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (324).
How old are Hercé’s residents?
The median age is 50, older than 83% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Hercé?
31, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Hercé?
INSEE counts 19 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.3% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (6.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Hercé?
€23,790 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.