0.4% of homes are flats, below 99% of compared French towns
21% of households are headed by a manual worker; in the typical compared French town the figure is 14%. Across Saint-André-de-Messei, 7.1% of households are single parents. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 86% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 518 people lived here, in 220 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.
A −4% change since 2012: slower than 85% 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 +6%; 2017 to 2023, −9%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Orne town −5%.
A median age of 47.8: Saint-André-de-Messei is older than 74% 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
■ Saint-André-de-Messei 47.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Across Saint-André-de-Messei, nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
In Saint-André-de-Messei, 25% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 94% 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
Average household size: 2.3 people. Higher than in 59% of compared French towns: 27% of households are couples with children. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 2.9% of households have no car
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
3.2% of homes are second homes (typical compared French town: 2.1%). For comparison, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in ten: one in ten homes stand empty.
The median resident lives on €25,820 a year per consumption unit
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 €25,820 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 51% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 2.4%, a lower share than 99% 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
Here, 32% of households are headed by a retired person. The comparison figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 88% of compared French towns: 2.4% 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.
Foreign nationals: 1.2% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 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: 58%, a higher share than 99% 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
In the typical compared French town, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single; in Saint-André-de-Messei, 16%. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Only 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Saint-André-de-Messei
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
Adults with no qualification: 26% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 518 to 2,582 people, the 15th 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).
Older than Saint-André-de-Messei: 5 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-André-de-Messei | 47.8 | 23% | 3.2% | 2.4% |
| Flers 14,432 · 4.4 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 2.4% | 13% |
| Saint-Georges-des-Groseillers 3,173 · 5.7 mi | 55.2 | 34% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 7.9 mi | 49 | 27% | 9.4% | 1.9% |
| Domfront en Poiraie 4,113 · 9 mi | 57.7 | 36% | 6% | 4.6% |
| La Ferté Macé 5,071 · 9.9 mi | 53.8 | 32% | 3.2% | 6.1% |
| Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie 2,699 · 10.2 mi | 61.9 | 45% | 54% | 7.1% |
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 Saint-André-de-Messei
What is the population of Saint-André-de-Messei?
518 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (540).
How old are Saint-André-de-Messei’s residents?
The median age is 47.8, older than 74% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-André-de-Messei?
8, with occasional dwellings: 3.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-André-de-Messei?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-André-de-Messei?
€25,820 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.