In Perrou, 4.4% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
4.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. By contrast, on one-person households, Perrou sits higher than 84% of compared French towns: 45%. The 2023 Census counted 299 residents in 100 households. The share of flats stands at 14%.
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 Perrou
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 23 second homes and occasional dwellings in Perrou, 15% of its 160 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 30 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Perrou’s residents are under 52.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Perrou had 318 residents at the 2012 census and 299 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
19% of homes stand empty, a share 99% 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
One household in 10 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). The census found that 15% of homes are second homes in Perrou. Few places have as many households in social housing: 13% here, more than in 55% of compared French towns. Against that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Perrou changed by −6% from 2012 to 2023, 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was −7%; from 2017 to 2023, +1%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Orne town −5%.
Half of Perrou is over 52.2, older than 89% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Perrou 52.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, against 31% in Perrou.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Perrou: 26% of households are couples with children, above 55% 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 rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 2.1 people.
Standard of living at the median: €19,670 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 Perrou’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €19,670 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 97% of compared French towns.
46% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
The share of households headed by a manual worker trails 96% of compared French towns: 5%. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.4% of residents are immigrants, below 88% 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.
Foreign nationals: 2.1%, below 77% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of single residents than 99% of compared French towns, at 45%
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
Married residents make up 29%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
10% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 99% 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
Here 44% of adults out of school have no qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 19%. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 299 to 2,582 people: this is the 8th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
4 of 6 neighbors are older than Perrou
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perrou | 52.2 | 31% | 15% | 2.4% |
| Domfront en Poiraie 4,113 · 4.2 mi | 57.7 | 36% | 6% | 4.6% |
| Rives d'Andaine 2,844 · 5.7 mi | 54.6 | 31% | 10% | 3.4% |
| Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie 2,699 · 6.3 mi | 61.9 | 45% | 54% | 7.1% |
| La Ferté Macé 5,071 · 9.1 mi | 53.8 | 32% | 3.2% | 6.1% |
| Flers 14,432 · 11.9 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 2.4% | 13% |
| Ambrières-les-Vallées 2,619 · 12 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 7.5% | 3.1% |
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 Perrou
What is the population of Perrou?
299 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (318).
How old are Perrou’s residents?
The median age is 52.2, older than 89% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Perrou?
23, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Perrou?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Perrou?
€19,670 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 October 30, 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.