A larger share of one-person households than 96% of compared French towns: 52%
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car in Flers comes in at 24%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 14,432, in 7,350 households. In Flers, a fifth of households are headed by a manual worker. Half of the town’s residents are over 47.8, older than in 73% of compared French towns.
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 Flers
Many people living alone
52% of Flers’ households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Social housing
29% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 28% rent privately and 42% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 990 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 83% of compared French towns grew faster than Flers: −4%
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 median Orne town changed −5% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −2% and the next six −2%.
Flers sits above 80% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (28%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Flers 47.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24, against 11% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Flers, 16% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 88% 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
Single-parent households are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 9.1%. To put it in context, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Households in social housing: 29%, a higher share than 91% 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
Turnover: 15% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 18% have lived in their home 30 years or more. Few places have as many flats: 52% here, more than in 77% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Without a car: one household in four, against 11% in the median compared French town.
Half above, half below €20,890 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.
Half of Flers’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,890 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 94% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 28.0% of residents.
More households headed by a retired person than 85% of compared French towns: 40%
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
9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 5.4% in Flers. For comparison, 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).
Immigrants: 13%, a higher share than 81% 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.
With foreign nationals at 11%, Flers is ahead of 84% of compared French towns on that count. The median compared commune in Orne has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A larger share of single residents than 84% of compared French towns: 32%
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 married residents is 38% in Flers and 43% in the typical compared French town. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
34% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 97% 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 share of graduates of higher education is 19%, against 30% in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 11th 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.
The youngest is Persan (32.9), the oldest Douarnenez (55.6).
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Flers
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flers | 47.8 | 28% | 2.4% | 13% |
| Saint-Georges-des-Groseillers 3,173 · 1.4 mi | 55.2 | 34% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 5.5 mi | 49 | 27% | 9.4% | 1.9% |
| Tinchebray-Bocage 4,813 · 7.2 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 8.3% | 3.6% |
| Condé-en-Normandie 5,985 · 8.1 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 3.7% | 3.4% |
| Valdallière 5,696 · 11.1 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 7.4% | 2.8% |
| Domfront en Poiraie 4,113 · 11.3 mi | 57.7 | 36% | 6% | 4.6% |
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 Flers
What is the population of Flers?
14,432 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (14,968).
How old are Flers’ residents?
The median age is 47.8, older than 73% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Flers?
200, with occasional dwellings: 2.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Flers?
INSEE counts 1,850 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 1,540 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Flers?
€20,890 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 28.0% 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.