Only 13% of households are couples with children in Argentan
The share of households headed by a manager or professional trails 86% of compared French towns: 4.9%. At the 2023 Census Argentan was home to 13,527 people in 6,860 households. In Argentan, 26% of households have no car. The town has more residents aged 65 and over than 77% of compared French towns, at 27%.
Throughout this page, the Orne 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 Argentan
Many people living alone
53% of Argentan’s households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 40% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Social housing
42% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 23% rent privately and 33% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Argentan had 14,219 residents at the 2012 census and 13,527 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Argentan’s population moved −5% on 2012, less than in 87% 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 change was −3% from 2012 to 2017 and −2% from 2017 to 2023.
Older than 65% of compared French towns: half of Argentan is over 46.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Argentan 46.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 96% of compared French towns: 53%
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 Orne median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 1.8 people. On the census count, one in ten households are single parents. By way of comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of households in social housing than 99% of compared French towns: 42%
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 15% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 17%. Flats are more common here than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. By its share of empty homes (8.3%), Argentan is above 67% of compared French towns.
The median resident lives on €21,530 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.
Half of Argentan’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €21,530 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 91% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 26.0% of residents.
40% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 85% 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
The share of households headed by a manual worker tops 71% of compared French towns: 17%. Elsewhere, 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).
Argentan ranks above 68% of compared French towns on foreign nationals: 6.7%
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.
With immigrants at 8.2%, Argentan is ahead of 62% of compared French towns on that count. Typically, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Only 34% of residents 15 and over are married in Argentan
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, just over a third of residents 15 and over are single here. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
In Argentan, 16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 95% 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
Just over a third of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
41 French towns of 13,138 to 13,897 people: this is the 10th 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.
Fleury-Mérogis is the youngest (30.2); Canet-en-Roussillon the oldest (58.9).
Older than Argentan: 3 of the 4 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentan | 46.3 | 27% | 2.3% | 8.2% |
| Gouffern en Auge 3,636 · 6.1 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 11% | 3.1% |
| Sées 4,168 · 12.9 mi | 51.8 | 33% | 2.9% | 1.9% |
| Falaise 7,680 · 13.3 mi | 46 | 26% | 2% | 2.6% |
| Vimoutiers 2,978 · 16.3 mi | 60.1 | 43% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
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 Argentan
What is the population of Argentan?
13,527 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (14,219).
How old are Argentan’s residents?
The median age is 46.3, older than 65% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Argentan?
180, with occasional dwellings: 2.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Argentan?
INSEE counts 1,110 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.2% of residents, and 910 foreign nationals (6.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Argentan?
€21,530 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 26.0% 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.