Courcelles-la-Forêt ranks above 96% of compared French towns on couples with children: 37%
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 3.1%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Courcelles-la-Forêt’s 160 households held 397 residents at the 2023 Census. The share of households without a car stands at 4.7%. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are scarce here: 14%, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns.
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 Courcelles-la-Forêt
A town of families
37% of households are couples with children and 3% single parents with children; 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Courcelles-la-Forêt had 416 residents at the 2012 census and 397 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 87% of compared French towns grew faster than Courcelles-la-Forêt: −5%
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 −1%; the six to 2023, −3%.
Courcelles-la-Forêt is younger than 70% of compared French towns: a median age of 41.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Courcelles-la-Forêt 41.4. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24, or about one in nine.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
24% of households are one person living alone, below 97% 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
Each household has 2.4 people on average. As a yardstick, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 3%, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 1% of homes are flats
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
2.4% of households rent social housing (HLM), against 12% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. The share of second homes stands at 6.4%. More empty homes than in 73% of compared French towns: 9.1%.
A median of €24,400 a year per consumption unit
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.
Living standards centre on €24,400 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 67% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker: 24%, a higher share than 95% 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
3.1% of Courcelles-la-Forêt’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 24% by a retired person (32%). Measured more widely, 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).
Immigrants make up 0.7% in Courcelles-la-Forêt, less 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.
With foreign nationals at 0.5%, Courcelles-la-Forêt is behind 99% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
18% of residents 15 and over are single, below 98% 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
On the census count, 43% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 85% of compared French towns: 20%
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
The share of adults with no qualification trails 62% of compared French towns: 17%. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
6th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 397 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 Courcelles-la-Forêt
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courcelles-la-Forêt | 41.4 | 14% | 6.4% | 0.7% |
| Cérans-Foulletourte 3,341 · 5.7 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 2.8% | 1.4% |
| La Flèche 14,947 · 6.2 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 2.4% | 2.9% |
| Noyen-sur-Sarthe 2,556 · 6.4 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 6.4% | 1.3% |
| La Suze-sur-Sarthe 4,693 · 7.3 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 1.7% | 1.6% |
| Roëzé-sur-Sarthe 2,514 · 8.7 mi | 50.6 | 24% | 4.8% | 1.7% |
| Guécélard 3,202 · 9.9 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 0.5% | 1.6% |
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 Courcelles-la-Forêt
What is the population of Courcelles-la-Forêt?
397 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (416).
How old are Courcelles-la-Forêt’s residents?
The median age is 41.4, younger than 70% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Courcelles-la-Forêt?
13, with occasional dwellings: 6.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Courcelles-la-Forêt?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.7% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Courcelles-la-Forêt?
€24,400 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.