1.4% of households have no car, below 99% of compared French towns
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 2.4% of homes are flats in Échalou. On the census count, just over two in five households are headed by a retired person. With a median age of 50.6, Échalou is older than 85% of compared French towns. The town is home to 319 residents in 150 households, by the 2023 Census.
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 Échalou
Fewer residents than in 2012
Échalou had 365 residents at the 2012 census and 319 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Échalou changed by −13% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 99% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought +7%; 2017 to 2023, −18%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Orne town −5%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 78% of compared French towns: 27%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Échalou 50.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Here just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
In Échalou, 19% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 77% 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 2.1 people. As a reference point, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 36% of households are one person living alone, a higher share than in 54% of compared French towns. Single-parent households are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 10%.
6.9% of homes are second homes, a share 83% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Of all households, 3.4% moved in during the last two years and 38% have stayed three decades or more. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten homes stand empty in Échalou.
Half above, half below €24,200 a year in standard of living
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 €24,200 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 69% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 93% of compared French towns, at 23%
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. The share of households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 97% of compared French towns: 1.5% of residents are immigrants
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Échalou, 2%. Typically, 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.
Married residents make up 52% in Échalou, more than in 96% of compared French towns
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 22% in Échalou and 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Only 18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Échalou
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
Where nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Échalou has 25%. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
13th highest median age among 41 French towns of 319 to 2,582
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.
Median age: 3 of the 6 towns around Échalou are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Échalou | 50.6 | 27% | 6.9% | 1.5% |
| Flers 14,432 · 3.6 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 2.4% | 13% |
| Saint-Georges-des-Groseillers 3,173 · 4.5 mi | 55.2 | 34% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 5.3 mi | 49 | 27% | 9.4% | 1.9% |
| Condé-en-Normandie 5,985 · 10.1 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 3.7% | 3.4% |
| Tinchebray-Bocage 4,813 · 10.7 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 8.3% | 3.6% |
| La Ferté Macé 5,071 · 11 mi | 53.8 | 32% | 3.2% | 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 Échalou
What is the population of Échalou?
319 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (365).
How old are Échalou’s residents?
The median age is 50.6, older than 85% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Échalou?
12, with occasional dwellings: 6.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Échalou?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Échalou?
€24,200 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.