37% of households are couples with children, a share 95% of compared French towns don’t reach
By its share of households in social housing (3.9%), Méral is below 91% of compared French towns. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 2.4% in the town. 5.4% of households have no car, a lower share than in 85% of compared French towns. The town is home to 1,053 residents in 410 households, by the 2023 Census.
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 Méral
A town of families
37% of households are couples with children and 4.9% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −1% since 2012, behind 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Mayenne town ±0%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought +3%; 2017 to 2023, −4%.
A median age of 42.5: Méral is younger than 62% 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
■ Méral 42.5. The median compared French town: 44.
A fifth of Méral’s residents are 65 or older, against 27% in the median Mayenne town and 22% in the median compared French town; 24% are under 18. On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
In Méral, 4.9% of households are single parents, fewer than in 99% 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 2.4 people in the average household. On one-person households, Méral sits lower than 80% of compared French towns: 29%. Measured more widely, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of flats than 99% of compared French towns: 1.9%
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
With second homes at 4.1%, Méral is ahead of 72% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, 30% of homes are flats. Empty homes account for 7.3%.
The median resident lives on €24,570 a year per consumption unit
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.
Living standards centre on €24,570 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 65% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 95% of compared French towns: 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
Households headed by a retired person make up 27%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 0.7% in Méral, less than in 99% 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.
Here 0.2% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. To put it in context, 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.
Fewer single residents than 93% 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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Méral, 46%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 74% of compared French towns: 23%
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, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Méral, 23%. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 1,053 to 2,582 people, the 10th youngest
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).
Of the 6 towns nearest Méral, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Méral | 42.5 | 20% | 4.1% | 0.7% |
| Cossé-le-Vivien 3,174 · 3.5 mi | 45.8 | 26% | 2% | 2.2% |
| Loiron-Ruillé 2,758 · 7.6 mi | 37.7 | 16% | 1.8% | 1.2% |
| Craon 4,431 · 7.7 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| Argentré-du-Plessis 4,633 · 9.9 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Saint-Berthevin 7,479 · 10.8 mi | 48.9 | 28% | 1.2% | 5.4% |
| L'Huisserie 4,672 · 11.1 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 1.3% | 3.9% |
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 Méral
What is the population of Méral?
1,053 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (1,067).
How old are Méral’s residents?
The median age is 42.5, younger than 62% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Méral?
19, with occasional dwellings: 4.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Méral?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.7% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Méral?
€24,570 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.