A larger share of households in social housing than 99% of compared French towns: 44%
The share of single-parent households tops 98% of compared French towns: 17%. 27% of households have no car, more than in 93% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 8,121 people lived in Coulaines, in 3,410 households. Residents aged 15 to 24: 14% of the total.
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 Coulaines
Social housing
44% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 15% rent privately and 41% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Faster growth than 54% of compared French towns: Coulaines changed by +6% 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
The first five years brought −3%; the six to 2023, +9%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Sarthe town ±0%.
Half of Coulaines is under 40.1, younger than 78% 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
■ Coulaines 40.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 21% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 19%, a lower share than 78% 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 Sarthe median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, 38% of households are one person living alone in Coulaines. Each household has 2.2 people on average. In the typical compared French town, 25% of households are couples with children.
57% of homes are flats, more than in 81% of compared French towns
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 15% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 17%. Fewer empty homes than in 83% of compared French towns: 4.3%. On top of that, 0.7% of homes are second homes, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €21,320 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 €21,320 a year: lower than in 92% of compared French towns. Some 28.0% of residents fall below the poverty line.
19% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 78% 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
Just over a third of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). Typically, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 7.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Coulaines ranks above 77% of compared French towns on immigrants: 12%
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.
The median compared commune in Sarthe has 2.8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 77% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town. Census figures put foreign nationals at 9.4% in Coulaines.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents make up 34% in Coulaines, more than in 91% 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, the share of married residents is 43%; Coulaines has 36%. Across the comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 90% of compared French towns, at 29%
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 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Coulaines comes in at 19%.
Among 41 French towns of 8,014 to 8,227 people, the 9th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Mazingarbe (35.8), the youngest, and Cavalaire-sur-Mer (57.1), the oldest.
Every neighbor is older than Coulaines
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coulaines | 40.1 | 21% | 0.7% | 12% |
| Sargé-lès-le-Mans 3,851 · 1.8 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 1% | 3% |
| Le Mans 146,249 · 1.9 mi | 40.4 | 22% | 3.4% | 12% |
| Yvré-l'Évêque 4,181 · 3 mi | 51.6 | 30% | 2% | 2.7% |
| Saint-Saturnin 2,774 · 3.2 mi | 47.8 | 25% | 1.3% | 3.7% |
| La Milesse 2,617 · 4 mi | 44.2 | 20% | 1.1% | 2.4% |
| Allonnes 10,739 · 4.6 mi | 44.7 | 26% | 1.2% | 12% |
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 Coulaines
What is the population of Coulaines?
8,121 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (7,687).
How old are Coulaines’ residents?
The median age is 40.1, younger than 78% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Coulaines?
25, with occasional dwellings: 0.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Coulaines?
INSEE counts 950 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 760 foreign nationals (9.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Coulaines?
€21,320 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 28.0% 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 9, 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.