A higher share of couples with children than 99% of compared French towns, at 42%
In Sainte-Opportune, 0.7% of homes are flats, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. 244 residents in 97 households: that is Sainte-Opportune at the 2023 Census. Census figures put households without a car at 1% locally. Compared with other places, households headed by a retired person are scarce here: 21%, fewer than in 93% 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 Sainte-Opportune
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 35 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sainte-Opportune, 25% of its 140 homes: higher than in 94% 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 ↓
A town of families
42% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
25% of homes in Sainte-Opportune are second homes
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 in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Empty homes: 4.6% of the total.
Since 2012, Sainte-Opportune has changed by ±0%, slower than 68% 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
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 84% of compared French towns: 13%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sainte-Opportune 43. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 43, Sainte-Opportune is younger than 58% of compared French towns. In Sainte-Opportune, 21% of residents are 65 or over. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
21% of households are one person living alone, below 99% 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
On average, 2.5 people share a household. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%. Single-parent households are more common here than in 58% of compared French towns.
€24,630 a year: the median 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €24,630 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 65% of compared French towns.
Sainte-Opportune sits above 98% of compared French towns for 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Sainte-Opportune ranks below 79% of compared French towns on immigrants: 3.3%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 2.9% in Sainte-Opportune. 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.
In Sainte-Opportune, 48% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 84% 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
Single residents are more common here than in 54% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 53% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification, or about one in five. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
12th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 244 to 2,582
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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is older than Sainte-Opportune
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Opportune | 43 | 21% | 25% | 3.3% |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 5.2 mi | 49 | 27% | 9.4% | 1.9% |
| Flers 14,432 · 7.1 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 2.4% | 13% |
| Saint-Georges-des-Groseillers 3,173 · 7.5 mi | 55.2 | 34% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| La Ferté Macé 5,071 · 10.5 mi | 53.8 | 32% | 3.2% | 6.1% |
| Condé-en-Normandie 5,985 · 11.1 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 3.7% | 3.4% |
| Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie 2,699 · 12.6 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 Sainte-Opportune
What is the population of Sainte-Opportune?
244 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (243).
How old are Sainte-Opportune’s residents?
The median age is 43, younger than 58% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sainte-Opportune?
35, with occasional dwellings: 25% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sainte-Opportune?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.3% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sainte-Opportune?
€24,630 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.