Flats: 0.6%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
2.9% of households rent social housing (HLM) (typical compared French town: 12%). On residents aged 15 to 24, Saint-Vaize sits lower than 95% of compared French towns: 7.5%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 620, in 280 households. The share of one-person households stands at 28%.
Throughout this page, the Charente-Maritime 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.
Saint-Vaize’s population changed by +11% since 2012, more than in 72% 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 +16%, and from 2017 to 2023 −5%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
Half of Saint-Vaize is over 47.7, older than 73% 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
■ Saint-Vaize 47.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, against 25% in Saint-Vaize.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
Only 7.1% of households are single parents in Saint-Vaize
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 Charente-Maritime median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2.2 people. On couples with children, Saint-Vaize sits lower than 55% of compared French towns: 24%. By way of comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Households without a car make up 5.9% in Saint-Vaize, less than in 81% 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 17 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). For Saint-Vaize, the census puts second homes at 4.5%. Compared with other places, empty homes are scarce here: 6.1%, fewer than in 58% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €24,770 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.
At €24,770 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
Saint-Vaize sits above 74% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (37%)
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 manual worker: 11%, below 72% of compared French towns. The share of households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 95% 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 median compared commune in Charente-Maritime has 3.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. 0.5% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A larger share of married residents than 97% of compared French towns: 52%
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: 20%, below 93% of compared French towns. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Saint-Vaize sits below 60% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (27%)
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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 17% in Saint-Vaize. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 620 to 2,582 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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
No nearby town is as young as Saint-Vaize
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Vaize | 47.7 | 25% | 4.5% | 1.6% |
| Saint-Georges-des-Coteaux 2,843 · 4.7 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 2.4% | 2.1% |
| Saintes 25,363 · 4.8 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2.7% | 5.5% |
| Chaniers 3,651 · 6.5 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 4% | 2% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Angély 6,784 · 10.5 mi | 56 | 36% | 4.6% | 4.5% |
| Val-de-Cognac 3,471 · 13.7 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Tonnay-Charente 8,289 · 15.7 mi | 49 | 27% | 1.6% | 3% |
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 Saint-Vaize
What is the population of Saint-Vaize?
620 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (560).
How old are Saint-Vaize’s residents?
The median age is 47.7, older than 73% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Vaize?
14, with occasional dwellings: 4.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Vaize?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Vaize?
€24,770 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.