Older than 95% of compared French towns: half of Le Lude is over 55.9
Couples with children: 15%, below 91% of compared French towns. Households headed by a retired person account for 47%. On second homes, Le Lude sits higher than 69% of compared French towns: 3.7%. This Sarthe town had 3,983 residents in 1,980 households at the 2023 census.
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 Le Lude
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Lude had 4,519 residents at the 2012 census and 3,983 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Le Lude’s residents are under 55.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 36% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 330 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 98% of compared French towns grew faster than Le Lude: −12%
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 median Sarthe town changed ±0% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −6% and the next six −6%.
36% of residents are 65 or over, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Lude 55.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 85% of compared French towns: 8.7%. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
39% of households are one person living alone, a share 67% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
A household here holds 2 people on average. As a yardstick, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 53% of compared French towns.
In Le Lude, 14% of homes stand empty, more than in 93% 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
Here 12% of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. Households in social housing make up about one in nine here (11%). On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €22,820 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 €22,820 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 83% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 17.0% of residents.
Le Lude sits below 97% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (3%)
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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 17% of households are headed by a manual worker in Le Lude. As a reference point, 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).
Le Lude ranks below 81% of compared French towns on immigrants: 3.1%
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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Le Lude has 2.7%. 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.
A smaller share of single residents than 94% of compared French towns: 19%
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
Half of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns, at 14%
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 is 32%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (3,957 to 4,009 people), the 3rd 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.
The youngest is Le Plessis-Belleville (37.2), the oldest Erquy (64.9).
Le Lude is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Lude | 55.9 | 36% | 3.7% | 3.1% |
| Noyant-Villages 5,448 · 9 mi | 51.3 | 29% | 12% | 5% |
| Mayet 3,187 · 10 mi | 49.4 | 30% | 6.6% | 1.3% |
| La Flèche 14,947 · 11.4 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 2.4% | 2.9% |
| Montval-sur-Loir 5,641 · 12.9 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 5.9% | 3% |
| Cérans-Foulletourte 3,341 · 13.4 mi | 42.8 | 20% | 2.8% | 1.4% |
| Baugé-en-Anjou 11,712 · 13.5 mi | 45.1 | 25% | 7.6% | 2.6% |
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 Le Lude
What is the population of Le Lude?
3,983 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (4,519).
How old are Le Lude’s residents?
The median age is 55.9, older than 95% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 36% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Lude?
89, with occasional dwellings: 3.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Lude?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 110 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Lude?
€22,820 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 17.0% 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.