One-person households: 44%, a higher share than 81% of compared French towns
Half of Ploërmel’s residents are over 48.1, older than in 75% of compared French towns. The town is home to 10,163 residents in 4,890 households, by the 2023 Census. The share of households in social housing stands at 6.6%. Empty homes: 8.8%, above 71% 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.
Ploërmel’s population moved +4% on 2012, less than in 53% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +7% in Morbihan. Here the change came as +1% to 2017, then +3% to 2023.
In Ploërmel, 26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 71% 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
■ Ploërmel 48.1. The median compared French town: 44.
On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
20% of households are couples with children, below 72% 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 Morbihan median and the France median
Living alone · share
8.3% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). On average, 2 people share a household. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%.
In Ploërmel, 4.1% of homes are second homes, more than in 72% 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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 14%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 15%. Few places have as many households without a car: 13% here, more than in three fifths of compared French towns. Set beside that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. One household in eight has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €26,360 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 €26,360 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 54% of compared French towns. 11.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
34% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 60% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 manual worker: 16% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. By contrast, on households headed by a manager or professional, Ploërmel sits lower than 57% of compared French towns: 8.4%. Set beside that, nearly a third 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 74% of compared French towns, at 3.9%
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.
By its share of foreign nationals (3.2%), Ploërmel is below 62% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%. The median compared commune in Morbihan has 2.3%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 74% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of married residents than 61% of compared French towns, at 41%
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 figure for single residents is 27% in Ploërmel and 25% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
20% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 55% of compared French towns
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
The census found that 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Ploërmel. Adults with no qualification: 19% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Ranked by age, 9th oldest 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.
Ages run from 33.5 in Serris to 51.2 in Mazamet.
Ploërmel is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ploërmel | 48.1 | 26% | 4.1% | 3.9% |
| Val d'Oust 2,807 · 4.6 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 10% | 2.4% |
| Josselin 2,584 · 7.4 mi | 52.7 | 34% | 8.4% | 11% |
| Malestroit 2,558 · 8.1 mi | 59.1 | 39% | 4.8% | 2.3% |
| Sérent 3,429 · 8.6 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 7.3% | 2.2% |
| Mauron 3,163 · 11.5 mi | 54.7 | 35% | 5.6% | 3% |
| Guer 6,208 · 12.5 mi | 41.6 | 22% | 5% | 3.6% |
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 Ploërmel
What is the population of Ploërmel?
10,163 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (9,771).
How old are Ploërmel’s residents?
The median age is 48.1, older than 75% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ploërmel?
230, with occasional dwellings: 4.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ploërmel?
INSEE counts 400 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.9% of residents, and 330 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ploërmel?
€26,360 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 11.0% 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 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.