A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.2%
Households without a car: 5%, below 88% of compared French towns. For Guesnes, the census puts second homes at 9.8%. On households headed by a retired person, Guesnes sits higher than 91% of compared French towns: 43%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 239, in 120 households.
Throughout this page, the Vienne 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 Guesnes
Empty homes
The census found 27 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Guesnes’ residents are under 52.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 26% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A ±0% change since 2012: slower than 71% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +4% for the median Vienne town, the change came in two steps: −8% from 2012 to 2017, then +8% to 2023.
Older than 89% of compared French towns: half of Guesnes is over 52.1
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Guesnes 52.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, against 26% in Guesnes. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 54% of compared French towns: 10%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vienne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
Below 66% of compared French towns: 22% of households are couples with children
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 Vienne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Nearly one in ten households are single parents, against 10% in the typical compared French town. Couples with children: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. The average household has 2 people. Fewer one-person households than in 52% of compared French towns: 35%.
16% of homes stand empty, 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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up just over one in ten households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 28%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%.
The median resident lives on €21,970 a year per consumption unit
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 Guesnes’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €21,970 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 89% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manual worker than 56% of compared French towns, at 13%
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
Households headed by a manager or professional make up about one in 11 here (8.7%). 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).
In Guesnes, 1.3% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 90% 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 share of immigrants trails 83% of compared French towns: 2.9%. The comparison figure for foreign nationals is 4.3% 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.
Fewer single residents than 84% of compared French towns: 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
Against a figure of 43% in the typical compared French town, the share of married residents in Guesnes comes in at 37%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 97% of compared French towns: 15%
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
Nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 23% in Guesnes. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
9th highest median age among 41 French towns of 239 to 2,582
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.
Guesnes and its 6 nearest towns: 2 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guesnes | 52.1 | 26% | 9.8% | 2.9% |
| Loudun 6,839 · 8.6 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 4.9% |
| Saint-Martin-la-Pallu 5,713 · 13.7 mi | 41.2 | 17% | 3% | 1.7% |
| Airvault 3,306 · 15.1 mi | 52.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 3.6% |
| Neuville-de-Poitou 5,513 · 15.2 mi | 45.3 | 24% | 1.2% | 2.1% |
| Thuré 2,765 · 15.9 mi | 50 | 27% | 3.7% | 2.4% |
| Jaunay-Marigny 7,528 · 17.2 mi | 41.8 | 20% | 2.9% | 3.4% |
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 Guesnes
What is the population of Guesnes?
239 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (240).
How old are Guesnes’ residents?
The median age is 52.1, older than 89% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Guesnes?
16, with occasional dwellings: 9.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Guesnes?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Guesnes?
€21,970 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.