1.2% of homes are flats, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
In Parennes, 30% of households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. There were 200 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 444 residents. Households without a car account for 3.9%. Couples with children are more common here than in 70% 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 Parennes
Fewer residents than in 2012
Parennes had 547 residents at the 2012 census and 444 in 2023, down 19%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 28 homes empty (12%): 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 −19% since 2012 leaves Parennes behind 99% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −7%, then −13% to 2023. Over those years, the median Sarthe town changed ±0% and the median compared French town +5%.
Older than 67% of compared French towns: half of Parennes is over 46.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Parennes 46.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 19%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in nine: 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
Parennes sits below 85% of compared French towns for single-parent households (7.5%)
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, 31% of households are one person living alone in Parennes. By way of comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.2 people share a household.
A lower share of households in social housing than 99% of compared French towns, at 1%
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
In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes; in Parennes, 4.6%. The town has more empty homes than 87% of compared French towns, at 12%.
€22,340 a year: the median standard of living
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.
At €22,340 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 87% of compared French towns.
Parennes sits below 86% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (4.9%)
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
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 37% in Parennes. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 95% of compared French towns, at 1.6%
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Parennes comes in at 0.9%. By way of comparison, 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 married residents than 68% of compared French towns: 40%
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
Here 24% of residents 15 and over are single, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 16%, a lower share than 95% of compared French towns
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
26% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 18th 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.
Parennes is younger than 4 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parennes | 46.5 | 19% | 4.6% | 1.6% |
| Évron 8,252 · 10.5 mi | 50 | 29% | 2.5% | 3.9% |
| La Milesse 2,617 · 15.4 mi | 44.2 | 20% | 1.1% | 2.4% |
| La Bazoge 3,796 · 15.5 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| Villaines-la-Juhel 2,671 · 16.3 mi | 57.5 | 38% | 3.9% | 3.3% |
| Saint-Saturnin 2,774 · 16.4 mi | 47.8 | 25% | 1.3% | 3.7% |
| Fresnay-sur-Sarthe 2,928 · 16.4 mi | 51 | 33% | 7% | 2.2% |
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 Parennes
What is the population of Parennes?
444 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% fewer than in 2012 (547).
How old are Parennes’ residents?
The median age is 46.5, older than 67% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Parennes?
11, with occasional dwellings: 4.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Parennes?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Parennes?
€22,340 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.