Messei ranks below 99% of compared French towns on flats: 1.9%
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Messei comes in at 4.1%. Households without a car account for 5.3%. On households in social housing, Messei sits lower than 94% of compared French towns: 2.9%. At the 2023 Census, 1,827 people lived locally, in 850 households.
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 Messei
Fewer residents than in 2012
Messei had 1,949 residents at the 2012 census and 1,827 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Messei’s residents are under 51.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Messei has changed by −6%, slower than 91% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −5% for the median Orne town, the change came in two steps: −2% from 2012 to 2017, then −4% to 2023.
Older than 86% of compared French towns: half of Messei is over 51.1
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Messei 51.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.6%, below 72% of compared French towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 30%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 94% of compared French towns: 6.4%
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
25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, against 23% in Messei. Here, 32% of households are one person living alone. To put it in context, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
98% of homes are houses
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 that moved in under two years ago: 9.7%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 30%. Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 2.7%, more than in 58% of compared French towns. One household in 19 has no car (median compared French town: 11%).
A median standard of living of €24,850 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,850 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 62% of compared French towns.
Messei ranks above 97% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 26%
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
42% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). For households headed by a manual worker, the comparison 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).
1.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 97% 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 median compared commune in Orne has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 97% of compared French towns. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%. Census figures put foreign nationals at 0.9% in Messei.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 95% of compared French towns: 19%
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
With married residents at 51%, Messei is ahead of 94% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 86% of compared French towns, at 20%
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, Messei has 24%. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Among 41 French towns of 1,827 to 2,582 people, the 11th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 3 are older than Messei
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messei | 51.1 | 30% | 2.7% | 1.4% |
| Flers 14,432 · 2.4 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 2.4% | 13% |
| Saint-Georges-des-Groseillers 3,173 · 3.7 mi | 55.2 | 34% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 6.5 mi | 49 | 27% | 9.4% | 1.9% |
| Tinchebray-Bocage 4,813 · 8.9 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 8.3% | 3.6% |
| Domfront en Poiraie 4,113 · 9.9 mi | 57.7 | 36% | 6% | 4.6% |
| Condé-en-Normandie 5,985 · 10.3 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 3.7% | 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 Messei
What is the population of Messei?
1,827 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (1,949).
How old are Messei’s residents?
The median age is 51.1, older than 86% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Messei?
25, with occasional dwellings: 2.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Messei?
INSEE counts 26 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Messei?
€24,850 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.