Half of Pénestin is over 66, older than 99% of compared French towns
The share of couples with children is 9.4%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census, 2,085 people lived in Pénestin, in 1,110 households. Empty homes account for 0.8%. 5.3% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 95% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Morbihan 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 Pénestin
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 2,790 second homes and occasional dwellings in Pénestin, 71% of its 3,930 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 92% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Pénestin’s residents are under 66 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 52% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Pénestin ranks above 99% of compared French towns on second homes: 71%
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
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 5% in Pénestin. In the typical compared French town, second homes come to 2.1%. On the census count, 4.7% of households rent social housing (HLM). Households without a car are rarer here than in 90% of compared French towns.
Pénestin grew +14% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 80% 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 Morbihan town +7%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 52% in Pénestin, more than in 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
■ Pénestin 66. The median compared French town: 44.
4.8% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Morbihan 51.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Only 5.8% of households are single parents in Pénestin
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 Morbihan median and the France median
Living alone · share
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 38% of households are one person living alone here. Households average 1.8 people. Across the comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €27,790 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 €27,790 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 69% of compared French towns. 10.0% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Households headed by a retired person: 66%, a higher 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
Households headed by a manager or professional: 5.8%, below 78% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.6% of residents are immigrants, below 95% 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.
Foreign nationals make up 0.9%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
More married residents than 99% of compared French towns: 55%
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
17% of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Pénestin ranks below 70% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 25%
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 Pénestin, 17%. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 2,085 to 2,582 people
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 Pénestin (66).
No nearby town is as old as Pénestin
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pénestin | 66 | 52% | 71% | 1.6% |
| Muzillac 5,089 · 5.6 mi | 55.4 | 37% | 7.1% | 1.7% |
| Férel 3,499 · 6.3 mi | 46 | 24% | 14% | 1.1% |
| Saint-Molf 2,870 · 6.4 mi | 43.6 | 18% | 13% | 1.6% |
| Piriac-sur-Mer 2,685 · 7.4 mi | 63.6 | 47% | 64% | 2.1% |
| Marzan 2,684 · 7.5 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 17% | 1.5% |
| Herbignac 7,224 · 7.6 mi | 41.9 | 20% | 5.4% | 1.8% |
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 Pénestin
What is the population of Pénestin?
2,085 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% more than in 2012 (1,827).
How old are Pénestin’s residents?
The median age is 66, older than 99% of compared French towns. 8.9% are under 18 and 52% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Pénestin?
2,790, with occasional dwellings: 71% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Pénestin?
INSEE counts 34 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 18 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Pénestin?
€27,790 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 10.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 8, 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.