Photo: Ricardo Boimare · CC BY 2.5Mers-les-Bains is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 58.3
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, 53% of households are headed by a retired person here. There were 1,430 households in Mers-les-Bains at the 2023 Census, home to 2,540 residents. Put another way, about one in four: 26% of households have no car. Flats are more common here than in 77% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Somme 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 Mers-les-Bains
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,540 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mers-les-Bains, 50% of its 3,100 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 33% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Mers-les-Bains’ residents are under 58.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Mers-les-Bains had 2,880 residents at the 2012 census and 2,540 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
48% of Mers-les-Bains’ households are one person: higher than in 90% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
50% of homes are second homes, a share 97% of compared French towns don’t reach
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, the share of households in social housing is 12%; Mers-les-Bains has 15%. Empty homes make up about one in 24 here (4.1%). Set beside that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Mers-les-Bains’s population moved −12% on 2012, less than in 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
In two steps, −2% to 2017 and −10% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −3% in Somme.
38% of residents are 65 or over, a share 97% 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
■ Mers-les-Bains 58.3. The median compared French town: 44.
8% of residents are 15 to 24, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Somme 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Mers-les-Bains ranks below 98% of compared French towns on couples with children: 12%
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 Somme median and the France median
Living alone · share
On single-parent households, 9.2% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 48% of households are one person living alone, or about one in two.
At the median, €22,890 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.
Half of residents live in households above €22,890 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 82% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 22.0% of residents are below the line.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns: 2.5%
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
In Mers-les-Bains, 16% of households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 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).
Below 95% of compared French towns: 1.7% 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.
With foreign nationals at 1%, Mers-les-Bains is behind 94% of compared French towns on that count. 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.
Single residents: 22%, a lower share than 76% 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
41% are married and 2.5% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 13% are widowed. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Only 13% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Mers-les-Bains
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Mers-les-Bains has 39%. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 4th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Mers-les-Bains
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mers-les-Bains | 58.3 | 38% | 50% | 1.7% |
| Le Tréport 4,378 · 1 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 37% | 1.8% |
| Eu 6,499 · 1.7 mi | 55.2 | 35% | 5.9% | 2.8% |
| Criel-sur-Mer 2,527 · 4.2 mi | 54.9 | 33% | 44% | 2.6% |
| Friville-Escarbotin 4,306 · 7 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 2.8% | 1.7% |
| Petit-Caux 9,513 · 10.6 mi | 43.8 | 20% | 10% | 1.2% |
| Blangy-sur-Bresle 2,819 · 13.9 mi | 51.1 | 30% | 1.8% | 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 Mers-les-Bains
What is the population of Mers-les-Bains?
2,540 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (2,880).
How old are Mers-les-Bains’ residents?
The median age is 58.3, older than 97% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mers-les-Bains?
1,540, with occasional dwellings: 50% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mers-les-Bains?
INSEE counts 42 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 26 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mers-les-Bains?
€22,890 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.0% 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 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.