Half of Le Vigean is over 53.5, older than 91% of compared French towns
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Le Vigean has 3%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 787, in 390 households. 46% of households are headed by a retired person, or about one in two. Fewer households in social housing than in 97% of compared French towns: 2%.
Throughout this page, the Cantal 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 Le Vigean
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 86 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Vigean, 16% of its 540 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Le Vigean’s residents are under 53.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Vigean had 841 residents at the 2012 census and 787 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 64 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.
Second homes: 16%, a higher share than 92% 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
In the median compared French town, 11% of households have no car; here, one in 12. Elsewhere, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 6.9% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 34%. Empty homes are more common here than in 87% of compared French towns.
−6% since 2012, a pace below 92% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Cantal town −3%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was −2%; from 2017 to 2023, −4%.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 95% of compared French towns: 7.6%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Vigean 53.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 28% of residents are 65 or over in Le Vigean. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
6.4% of households are single parents, below 94% 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 Cantal median and the France median
Living alone · share
22% of households are couples with children; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. Measured more widely, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. For Le Vigean, the census puts one-person households at 37%.
A median standard of living of €24,830 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.
The median standard of living in Le Vigean is €24,830 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 62% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 84% of compared French towns: 5.1%
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
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (10%), Le Vigean is below 75% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 9.4% of 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 97% of compared French towns: 1.4%
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.
0.8% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). Across the 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.
A lower share of single residents than 94% of compared French towns, at 19%
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 Le Vigean, 44% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Le Vigean ranks below 88% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 19%
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
17% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
41 French towns of 787 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th 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).
Le Vigean and the towns around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Vigean | 53.5 | 28% | 16% | 1.4% |
| Mauriac 3,449 · 1.3 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.1% | 3.1% |
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 Le Vigean
What is the population of Le Vigean?
787 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (841).
How old are Le Vigean’s residents?
The median age is 53.5, older than 91% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Vigean?
86, with occasional dwellings: 16% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Vigean?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Vigean?
€24,830 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.