A larger share of empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 20%
The figure for flats is 2.9% in Nouans and 30% in the typical compared French town. In Nouans, 4.7% of households have no car. 28% of households are couples with children, more than in 65% of compared French towns. There were 110 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 252 residents.
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 Nouans
Fewer residents than in 2012
Nouans had 284 residents at the 2012 census and 252 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 30 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −11% since 2012 leaves Nouans behind 98% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Sarthe town ±0%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was +1%; from 2017 to 2023, −12%.
10% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 61% 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
■ Nouans 44.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Nouans is 44.4, higher than in 52% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in four: 23% of residents are 65 or over.
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%.
Only 32% of households are one person living alone in Nouans
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
In Nouans, 8.8% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. There are 2.3 people in the average household. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%.
A larger share of second homes than 75% of compared French towns: 4.7%
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Long tenure is the mark of 17% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 3.6% (under two years). The benchmark for second homes in the typical compared French town: 2.1%.
A typical living standard of €24,770 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.
The median standard of living in Nouans is €24,770 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
In Nouans, 17% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 67% 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
Where 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, Nouans has 12%. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manual worker come to 14%. For Nouans, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 1.2% in Nouans, less than in 98% 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.
The figure for foreign nationals is 0.8% in Nouans and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Sarthe has 2.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 98% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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 lower share of single residents than 85% of compared French towns, at 21%
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
The figure for married residents is 45% in Nouans and 43% in the typical compared French town. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Nouans ranks below 88% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 19%
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 figure for adults with no qualification is 23% in Nouans and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
The 16th youngest of 41 French towns of 252 to 2,582 people
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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Nouans is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nouans | 44.4 | 23% | 4.7% | 1.2% |
| Fresnay-sur-Sarthe 2,928 · 7.8 mi | 51 | 33% | 7% | 2.2% |
| Mamers 4,996 · 10.1 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 1.4% | 4.2% |
| Bonnétable 3,703 · 10.3 mi | 53.5 | 34% | 4.5% | 1.7% |
| La Bazoge 3,796 · 10.3 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| Savigné-l'Évêque 4,031 · 11.5 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 1.4% | 1% |
| Saint-Saturnin 2,774 · 12.7 mi | 47.8 | 25% | 1.3% | 3.7% |
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 Nouans
What is the population of Nouans?
252 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (284).
How old are Nouans’ residents?
The median age is 44.4, older than 52% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Nouans?
7, with occasional dwellings: 4.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Nouans?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.2% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Nouans?
€24,770 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 8, 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.