La Ferté-en-Ouche ranks below 98% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 2.7%
In the typical compared French town, the share of flats is 30%; La Ferté-en-Ouche has 4.1%. At the 2023 Census La Ferté-en-Ouche was home to 2,938 people in 1,380 households. For La Ferté-en-Ouche, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 27%. Lower than in 69% of compared French towns: 7.5% of households have no car.
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 La Ferté-en-Ouche
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 320 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Ferté-en-Ouche, 17% of its 1,930 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 99% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Ferté-en-Ouche had 3,265 residents at the 2012 census and 2,938 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 220 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.
In La Ferté-en-Ouche, 17% of homes are second homes, more than in 92% 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
In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty; in La Ferté-en-Ouche, 12%. The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Of all households, 10% moved in during the last two years and 21% have stayed three decades or more.
−10% since 2012: slower than 97% 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 −1%, and from 2017 to 2023 −9%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Orne town −5%.
La Ferté-en-Ouche is older than 81% of compared French towns: a median age of 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
■ La Ferté-en-Ouche 49.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24 here.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Fewer single-parent households than 92% of compared French towns: 6.7%
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 2.1 people. On the census count, 23% of households are couples with children. In the typical compared French town, one in ten households are single parents.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €24,520 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 €24,520 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 66% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 19.0%.
Households headed by a retired person: 39%, a higher share than 82% 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 manual worker: 17% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 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 make up 3% in La Ferté-en-Ouche, less than in 82% 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.
The share of foreign nationals is 2%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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.
Fewer single residents than 78% of compared French towns: 22%
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
For La Ferté-en-Ouche, the census puts married residents at 44%. The usual figure: a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 16%, a lower share than 96% 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
By its share of adults with no qualification (30%), La Ferté-en-Ouche is above 91% of compared French towns.
Ranked by age, 15th 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.
Ages run from 32.5 in Avord to 58.7 in Lalinde.
1 of 5 neighbors are older than La Ferté-en-Ouche
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Ferté-en-Ouche | 49.4 | 27% | 17% | 3% |
| L'Aigle 7,663 · 8.3 mi | 47.4 | 28% | 2.7% | 11% |
| Mesnil-en-Ouche 4,414 · 12.2 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 19% | 2.3% |
| Vimoutiers 2,978 · 14.7 mi | 60.1 | 43% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| Bernay 9,765 · 17.1 mi | 49.2 | 29% | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Livarot-Pays-d'Auge 6,207 · 17.6 mi | 46.1 | 25% | 16% | 2.2% |
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 La Ferté-en-Ouche
What is the population of La Ferté-en-Ouche?
2,938 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (3,265).
How old are La Ferté-en-Ouche’s residents?
The median age is 49.4, older than 81% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Ferté-en-Ouche?
320, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Ferté-en-Ouche?
INSEE counts 88 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3% of residents, and 58 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Ferté-en-Ouche?
€24,520 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 19.0% 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 9, 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.