Flats: 1.9%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 6.6% in Berfay. On the census count, 0.7% of households rent social housing (HLM). Single-parent households are rarer here than in 93% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 333 residents in 150 households.
Throughout this page, the Sarthe 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 Berfay
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 31 second homes and occasional dwellings in Berfay, 15% of its 210 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Berfay had 366 residents at the 2012 census and 333 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 26 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
15% of homes in Berfay 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
Just over one in ten homes stand empty; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.7%. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
−9% since 2012: slower than 96% 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 change was −10% from 2012 to 2017 and +2% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Sarthe town ±0%.
Half of Berfay is over 48.4, older than 76% 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
■ Berfay 48.4. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Berfay has 8.9%. Roughly two in ten: just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 87% of compared French towns: 27%
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 Sarthe median and the France median
Living alone · share
Where 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, Berfay has 19%. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Households average 2.2 people.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €25,250 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 €25,250 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 83% of compared French towns, at 20%
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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Berfay comes in at 6.5%. In Berfay, 34% of households are headed by a retired person. For comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Berfay, 0.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 99% 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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 0.6% in Berfay. On average, 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 Berfay, 17% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 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
54% of residents 15 and over are married and 5.6% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 4.8% are widowed. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 96% 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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 24% of adults out of school have no qualification here. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 333 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).
Median age: 4 of the 6 towns around Berfay are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berfay | 48.4 | 21% | 15% | 0.3% |
| Vibraye 2,523 · 4.4 mi | 53.9 | 34% | 6.1% | 1.4% |
| Saint-Calais 2,948 · 5.3 mi | 57.9 | 39% | 4.3% | 2.8% |
| Connerré 2,780 · 13.2 mi | 45.2 | 26% | 2.7% | 2.4% |
| Cherré-Au 2,758 · 13.3 mi | 50 | 28% | 2.7% | 2.2% |
| La Ferté-Bernard 8,740 · 14.1 mi | 50.4 | 31% | 3% | 6.8% |
| Montfort-le-Gesnois 2,939 · 16.6 mi | 46.2 | 26% | 2.2% | 1.1% |
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 Berfay
What is the population of Berfay?
333 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (366).
How old are Berfay’s residents?
The median age is 48.4, older than 76% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Berfay?
31, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Berfay?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.3% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Berfay?
€25,250 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.