Vocance: 15% of homes stand empty, above 95% of compared French towns
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 25% in Vocance. Locally, 3.5% of households rent social housing (HLM). This Ardèche town has fewer single-parent households than 90% of compared French towns, at 7%. Census day 2023: 613 residents and 290 households here.
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 Vocance
Empty homes
The census found 55 homes empty (15%): 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 +5% change since 2012: Vocance grew faster than 51% 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, ±0%.
Half of Vocance is over 46.2, older than 64% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vocance 46.2. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 9.7% in Vocance. Residents aged 65 and over account for 22%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
In Vocance, 37% of households are one person living alone, more than in 58% of compared French towns
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
Households here average 2.1 people each. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children in Vocance comes in at 24%.
In Vocance, 9.1% of homes are second homes, more than in 87% 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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 11%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 29%. Nearly a fifth of homes are flats, a lower share than in 69% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. The share of households without a car trails 64% of compared French towns: 8.4%.
At the median, €23,540 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.
At €23,540 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 39%, a higher share than 80% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 87% 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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 1.9% of residents are foreign nationals here. The wider picture: 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.
Vocance ranks below 70% of compared French towns on married residents: 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
The share of single residents is 24%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 21%, a lower share than 84% 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, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 613 to 2,582 people, the 18th 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).
A younger town than 4 of the 6 around it: Vocance
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vocance | 46.2 | 22% | 9.1% | 2.4% |
| Roiffieux 2,743 · 5.5 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 2.8% | 2.3% |
| Annonay 17,274 · 6.4 mi | 45.6 | 25% | 3.4% | 14% |
| Bourg-Argental 2,886 · 6.8 mi | 49.3 | 28% | 6.2% | 2.4% |
| Davézieux 3,205 · 8.1 mi | 54.7 | 35% | 1.3% | 4.4% |
| Vernosc-lès-Annonay 2,725 · 8.1 mi | 45.1 | 21% | 1.1% | 2.6% |
| Dunières 2,670 · 10.3 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 6.5% | 4.1% |
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 Vocance
What is the population of Vocance?
613 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (584).
How old are Vocance’s residents?
The median age is 46.2, older than 64% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vocance?
34, with occasional dwellings: 9.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vocance?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vocance?
€23,540 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 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.