Bretoncelles: 20% of homes are second homes, above 93% of compared French towns
7.3% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). Bretoncelles has fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 94% of compared French towns, at 3.8%. In 2023, the Census found 1,455 residents locally, living in 670 households. Locally, 8.4% of residents are 15 to 24.
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 Bretoncelles
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 180 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bretoncelles, 20% of its 910 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 97% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
7.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 74% 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
Some 9.7% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 18% who have been there 30 years or more. At 7.1%, the share of empty homes is higher than in 54% of compared French towns. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. Put another way, about one in nine: just over one in ten households have no car.
Bretoncelles’s population moved −1% on 2012, less than in 72% 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 population moved +2%, and from 2017 to 2023 −2%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Orne town −5%.
Older than 81% of compared French towns: half of Bretoncelles is over 49.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bretoncelles 49.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 30%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Bretoncelles sits below 70% of compared French towns for couples with children (21%)
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
Households here average 2.1 people each. Few places have so few single-parent households: 8.3% here, fewer than in 77% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 25% of households are couples with children. 38% of households are one person living alone; in the typical compared French town the figure is 35%.
The median resident lives on €23,550 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €23,550 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
Bretoncelles ranks above 96% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 25%
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
With households headed by a retired person at 36%, Bretoncelles is ahead of 70% of compared French towns on that count. Households headed by a manual worker make up 14% 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 78% of compared French towns, at 3.4%
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 (2%), Bretoncelles is below nearly four fifths of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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.
Only 20% of residents 15 and over are single in Bretoncelles
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 census found that 42% of residents 15 and over are married in Bretoncelles. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
In Bretoncelles, 19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 89% 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
29% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,455 to 2,582 people), the 14th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 4 are older than Bretoncelles
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bretoncelles | 49.4 | 30% | 20% | 3.4% |
| La Loupe 3,191 · 6.1 mi | 50.9 | 31% | 5.2% | 7.6% |
| Nogent-le-Rotrou 9,292 · 8.7 mi | 51.3 | 32% | 4.6% | 8.4% |
| Longny les Villages 2,811 · 8.9 mi | 56.4 | 35% | 24% | 2.8% |
| Senonches 3,045 · 10.9 mi | 53.9 | 33% | 8.6% | 2.7% |
| Val-au-Perche 3,336 · 14.4 mi | 47.6 | 26% | 11% | 3.5% |
| Courville-sur-Eure 2,791 · 16 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
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 Bretoncelles
What is the population of Bretoncelles?
1,455 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (1,464).
How old are Bretoncelles’ residents?
The median age is 49.4, older than 81% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bretoncelles?
180, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bretoncelles?
INSEE counts 50 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 29 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bretoncelles?
€23,550 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.