Photo: Profdocdubellay · CC BY-SA 3.0Val-au-Perche ranks above 88% of compared French towns on second homes: 11%
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Val-au-Perche comes in at 26%. The town had 3,336 residents in 1,550 households at the 2023 census. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.3% in the town. On households in social housing, Val-au-Perche sits higher than 69% of compared French towns: 17%.
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 Val-au-Perche
One home in nine is a second home
The census counted 210 second homes and occasional dwellings in Val-au-Perche, 11% of its 1,990 homes: higher than in 88% of compared French towns. 95% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Val-au-Perche had 3,823 residents at the 2012 census and 3,336 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 220 homes empty (11%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A lower share of flats than 85% of compared French towns, at 11%
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
Where 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, Val-au-Perche has 11%. By contrast, fewer households without a car than in 62% of compared French towns: 8.7%. The comparison figure for flats is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Val-au-Perche has changed by −13%, slower than 99% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Orne town −5%.
Older than 73% of compared French towns: half of Val-au-Perche is over 47.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Val-au-Perche 47.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, just over a quarter of residents are 65 or over here.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Orne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 6.7%, a lower share than 92% 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
The share of one-person households trails 63% of compared French towns: 33%. Households average 2.2 people. On couples with children, Val-au-Perche sits lower than 56% of compared French towns: 24%. By way of comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €24,220 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 €24,220 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 69% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 13.0%.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 90% of compared French towns: 4.5%
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, 32% of households are headed by a retired person; in Val-au-Perche, 40%. For comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Val-au-Perche, 3.5% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 78% 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.
2.9% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Orne has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 78% of compared French towns. 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.
Val-au-Perche ranks below 66% of compared French towns on single residents: 24%
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
Val-au-Perche has more married residents than 57% of compared French towns, at 44%. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
In Val-au-Perche, 16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 95% 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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Val-au-Perche comes in at 30%.
The 13th oldest of 41 French towns of 3,306 to 3,369 people
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 Saint-Maximin (36.4), the oldest Roscoff (61.5).
No nearby town is as young as Val-au-Perche
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val-au-Perche | 47.6 | 26% | 11% | 3.5% |
| La Ferté-Bernard 8,740 · 6.3 mi | 50.4 | 31% | 3% | 6.8% |
| Nogent-le-Rotrou 9,292 · 6.5 mi | 51.3 | 32% | 4.6% | 8.4% |
| Cherré-Au 2,758 · 6.6 mi | 50 | 28% | 2.7% | 2.2% |
| Bonnétable 3,703 · 13.8 mi | 53.5 | 34% | 4.5% | 1.7% |
| Vibraye 2,523 · 14.9 mi | 53.9 | 34% | 6.1% | 1.4% |
| Mamers 4,996 · 15.8 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 1.4% | 4.2% |
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 Val-au-Perche
What is the population of Val-au-Perche?
3,336 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (3,823).
How old are Val-au-Perche’s residents?
The median age is 47.6, older than 73% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Val-au-Perche?
210, with occasional dwellings: 11% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Val-au-Perche?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.5% of residents, and 95 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Val-au-Perche?
€24,220 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.0% 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.