Couples with children: 13%, a lower share than 95% of compared French towns
The share of households in social housing tops 84% of compared French towns: 23%. On the census count, 5.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional. At 21%, the share of households without a car is higher than in 86% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Sées’s population at 4,168, in 2,040 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 Sées
Many people living alone
53% of Sées’ households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 31% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
An older town
Half of Sées’ residents are under 51.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 15% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 330 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sées had 4,358 residents at the 2012 census and 4,168 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 86% of compared French towns: Sées changed by −4% since 2012
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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Orne town −5%.
Half of Sées is over 51.8, older than 88% 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
■ Sées 51.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Here just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. Residents aged 65 and over: a third of the total.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Sées, 53% of households are one person living alone, more than in 96% 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, 1.8 people share a household. At 9.6%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 58% of compared French towns. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
More empty homes than 92% of compared French towns: 13%
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
Sées sits close to the norm on second homes: 2.9%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 37% of homes are flats. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €22,310 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,310 a year: lower than in 87% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 21.0%.
Sées ranks above 81% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 39%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Sées has 18%. To put it in context, 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 92% of compared French towns, at 1.9%
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.
1.5% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 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.
Below 94% of compared French towns: 33% of residents 15 and over are married
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
The figure for single residents is 32% in Sées and 25% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Sées ranks above 99% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 36%
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Sées. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
8th highest median age among 41 French towns of 4,133 to 4,203
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Salouël is the youngest (32.5); Le Pouliguen the oldest (67.6).
Nearby, 1 of 4 towns have older populations than Sées
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sées | 51.8 | 33% | 2.9% | 1.9% |
| Gouffern en Auge 3,636 · 12.3 mi | 49.5 | 27% | 11% | 3.1% |
| Alençon 25,490 · 12.7 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.1% | 12% |
| Argentan 13,527 · 12.9 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 2.3% | 8.2% |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis 3,636 · 13.8 mi | 54 | 35% | 1.4% | 5% |
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 Sées
What is the population of Sées?
4,168 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (4,358).
How old are Sées’ residents?
The median age is 51.8, older than 88% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sées?
70, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sées?
INSEE counts 81 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.9% of residents, and 62 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sées?
€22,310 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.0% 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 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.