2.8% of homes stand empty, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 133 residents in 62 households: that is Brethel at the 2023 Census. Census figures put couples with children at 31% locally. Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Brethel comes in at 46%.
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 Brethel
Fewer residents than in 2012
Brethel had 142 residents at the 2012 census and 133 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Brethel changed by −6% from 2012 to 2023, behind 92% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +15%; from 2017 to 2023, −19%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Orne town −5%.
Half of Brethel is over 47.3, older than 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
■ Brethel 47.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over; in Brethel, 24%. On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Brethel: 38% of households are one person living alone, above 64% 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 Orne median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.2 people. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Brethel ranks above 88% of compared French towns on second homes: 9.9%
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. About one in 16: that is how common households without a car are in Brethel (6.3%). As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Median living standard: €24,420 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.
Living standards centre on €24,420 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 67% of compared French towns.
31% of households are headed by a retired person, below 60% 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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 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).
In Brethel, 0.7% of residents are immigrants, fewer 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.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Brethel sits below 68% of compared French towns for single residents (23%)
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 Brethel, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
In Brethel, 31% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 93% 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
22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification (typical compared French town: 30%). Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 133 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as young as Brethel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brethel | 47.3 | 24% | 9.9% | 0.7% |
| L'Aigle 7,663 · 4.8 mi | 47.4 | 28% | 2.7% | 11% |
| La Ferté-en-Ouche 2,938 · 9.2 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 17% | 3% |
| Tourouvre au Perche 2,955 · 9.4 mi | 52.2 | 31% | 21% | 2.6% |
| Mortagne-au-Perche 3,898 · 13.8 mi | 50 | 32% | 5.9% | 5.1% |
| Longny les Villages 2,811 · 16.6 mi | 56.4 | 35% | 24% | 2.8% |
| Verneuil d'Avre et d'Iton 7,193 · 17.2 mi | 50 | 29% | 4.4% | 6.1% |
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 Brethel
What is the population of Brethel?
133 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (142).
How old are Brethel’s residents?
The median age is 47.3, older than 71% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Brethel?
7, with occasional dwellings: 9.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Brethel?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.7% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Brethel?
€24,420 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.