Above 90% of compared French towns: 12% of homes stand empty
The median age in Viviers is 49.6, higher than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. 3,633 residents in 1,620 households: that is Viviers at the 2023 Census. Households in social housing make up about one in 23 here (4.4%). Here 4.5% of homes are second homes, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 2.1%.
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 Viviers
Fewer residents than in 2012
Viviers had 3,908 residents at the 2012 census and 3,633 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 240 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.
−7% since 2012, a pace below 93% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −5%, and from 2017 to 2023 −3%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ardèche town +4%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 77% of compared French towns: 27%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Viviers 49.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Viviers, 9.2%. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over 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%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 58% of compared French towns: 24%
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
Each household has 2.1 people on average. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 34%, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns. The wider picture: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. There is little gap on single-parent households: 9.9%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
24% of homes are flats, below 60% 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
Of all households, 11% moved in during the last two years and 26% have stayed three decades or more. Few places have so few households without a car: 9.6% here, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns. For comparison, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
€24,670 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.
Living standards centre on €24,670 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 64% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 16.0%.
17% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 67% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Viviers comes in at 7.4%. The share of households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town is 14%. Households headed by a retired person make up about one in three here (31%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 5.9% of Viviers’ residents
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.
Put another way, about one in 17: 5.9% of residents are immigrants. That is lower than in 55% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%. At 4.3%, foreign nationals sit close to the figure 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 higher share of married residents than 75% of compared French towns, at 46%
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
Single residents make up 27%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Below 77% of compared French towns: 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Viviers, 24%. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 14th oldest of 41 French towns of 3,609 to 3,659 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.
Ages run from 37.6 in Lizy-sur-Ourcq to 61.5 in Plestin-les-Grèves.
Every neighbor is younger than Viviers
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viviers | 49.6 | 27% | 4.5% | 5.9% |
| Châteauneuf-du-Rhône 2,917 · 2.4 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 3.7% | 6.4% |
| Donzère 6,008 · 3.4 mi | 39.5 | 17% | 1.1% | 7.5% |
| Le Teil 8,726 · 4.4 mi | 43 | 22% | 2.9% | 13% |
| Montélimar 40,595 · 6 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Pierrelatte 13,756 · 7.7 mi | 42.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 13% |
| Bourg-Saint-Andéol 7,661 · 7.8 mi | 44.2 | 25% | 3.9% | 14% |
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 Viviers
What is the population of Viviers?
3,633 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (3,908).
How old are Viviers’ residents?
The median age is 49.6, older than 82% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Viviers?
87, with occasional dwellings: 4.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Viviers?
INSEE counts 210 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.9% of residents, and 160 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Viviers?
€24,670 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 16.0% 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 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.