Half of Vernon is over 55, older than 94% of compared French towns
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 2.5% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Vernon. At the 2023 Census, 235 people lived in the town, in 120 households. Flats make up about one in 13 here (7.9%). Few places have so few couples with children: 17% here, fewer than in 85% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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 Vernon
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 66 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vernon, 33% of its 200 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 86% 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 Vernon’s residents are under 55 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
47% of Vernon’s households are one person: higher than in 88% of compared French towns; 36% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
33% of homes are second homes, more than in 95% 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
One household in 18 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Fewer households without a car than in 84% of compared French towns: 5.5%. The benchmark for second homes in the typical compared French town: 2.1%. Here, 6.5% of homes stand empty.
Vernon grew +5% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 50% 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
The years 2012 to 2017 brought +4%; 2017 to 2023, +1%.
Vernon sits below 97% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (6.9%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vernon 55. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 33% in Vernon and 22% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Vernon ranks above 88% of compared French towns on one-person households: 47%
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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of single-parent households trails 80% of compared French towns: 8.1%. On average, 1.9 people share a household. In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%.
Median living standard: €22,550 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.
Half of residents live in households above €22,550 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 85% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 7.9% in Vernon, less than in 87% 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
Set against 9.4% in the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in Vernon. Households headed by a retired person: 36% of the total. For households headed by a manual worker, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Vernon sits below 76% of compared French towns for immigrants (3.7%)
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.
2.9% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. To put it in context, 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.
38% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 79% 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
In the typical compared French town, 25% of residents 15 and over are single; in Vernon, 29%. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A lower share of adults with no qualification than 90% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
At 29%, the share of graduates of higher education is lower than in 54% of compared French towns. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
41 French towns of 235 to 2,582 people: this is the 6th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Vernon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon | 55 | 33% | 33% | 3.7% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 8.4 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 9.8 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Aubenas 12,416 · 11.1 mi | 47.9 | 29% | 5.3% | 12% |
| Vals-les-Bains 3,474 · 12.9 mi | 56.1 | 36% | 24% | 5.2% |
| Villeneuve-de-Berg 3,031 · 14.1 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 8% | 5.1% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 16 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
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 Vernon
What is the population of Vernon?
235 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (224).
How old are Vernon’s residents?
The median age is 55, older than 94% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vernon?
66, with occasional dwellings: 33% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vernon?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.7% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vernon?
€22,550 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.