Below 99% of compared French towns: 1% of residents are 15 to 24
Where 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, Les Mées has 3.8%. This Sarthe town counted 103 residents and 52 households at the 2023 Census. Here, 45% of households are headed by a retired person. 18% of households are couples with children, a lower share than in 81% 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 Les Mées
An older town
Half of Les Mées’ residents are under 52.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
±0% since 2012, a pace below 70% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −3%, and from 2017 to 2023 +3%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Sarthe town ±0%.
Older than 90% of compared French towns: half of Les Mées is over 52.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Les Mées 52.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 30% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 22%.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
Above 55% of compared French towns: 36% of households are one person living alone
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
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Each household has 2 people on average. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%.
In Les Mées, 7.8% of homes are second homes, more than in 85% 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 5.7% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 13%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Empty homes: 9.4% here and 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €24,730 a year to live on
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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €24,730 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
18% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 75% 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
About one in 11: that is how common households headed by a manager or professional are in Les Mées (9.1%). On average, 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).
Les Mées: 0% of residents are immigrants
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.
Immigrants are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 15% in Les Mées, less 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
58% of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns: 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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 15% of adults out of school have no qualification here. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 8th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
2 of 6 neighbors are older than Les Mées
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Mées | 52.5 | 30% | 7.8% | 0% |
| Mamers 4,996 · 6.8 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 1.4% | 4.2% |
| Fresnay-sur-Sarthe 2,928 · 7.8 mi | 51 | 33% | 7% | 2.2% |
| Alençon 25,490 · 10.3 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.1% | 12% |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis 3,636 · 10.5 mi | 54 | 35% | 1.4% | 5% |
| Bonnétable 3,703 · 13 mi | 53.5 | 34% | 4.5% | 1.7% |
| La Bazoge 3,796 · 15.4 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
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 Les Mées
What is the population of Les Mées?
103 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (103).
How old are Les Mées’ residents?
The median age is 52.5, older than 90% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Mées?
5, with occasional dwellings: 7.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Mées?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Mées?
€24,730 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 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.