Older than 92% of compared French towns: half of Varaize is over 53.8
0.6% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). Here, 4.5% of households have no car. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Varaize is home to 533 residents in 260 households, by the 2023 Census.
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.
What stands out about the people of Varaize
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 45 second homes and occasional dwellings in Varaize, 13% of its 340 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 98% 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 Varaize’s residents are under 53.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Varaize had 560 residents at the 2012 census and 533 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of second homes than 90% of compared French towns: 13%
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 in ten homes stand empty, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Long tenure is the mark of 28% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 5.7% (under two years). Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Varaize has changed by −5%, slower than 87% 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
In two steps, ±0% to 2017 and −5% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +8% in Charente-Maritime.
33% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% 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
■ Varaize 53.8. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 8.5% in Varaize. On average, 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: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 16%, a lower share than 87% 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 Charente-Maritime median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2 people on average. Higher than in 90% of compared French towns: 14% of households are single parents. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town. By its share of one-person households (37%), Varaize is above 58% of compared French towns.
€25,880 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.
The median standard of living in Varaize is €25,880 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 51% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 93% of compared French towns, at 3.9%
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
Two in five households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. Higher than in 87% of compared French towns: 21% of households are headed by a manual worker. The wider picture: 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).
Fewer immigrants than 75% of compared French towns: 3.8%
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 29: 3.4% of residents are foreign nationals. For 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 higher share of married residents than 89% of compared French towns, at 49%
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 Varaize, 21% of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
In Varaize, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 57% 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
For Varaize, the census puts graduates of higher education at 29%. To put it in context, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 533 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Of the 6 towns nearest Varaize, 1 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varaize | 53.8 | 33% | 13% | 3.8% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Angély 6,784 · 4.8 mi | 56 | 36% | 4.6% | 4.5% |
| Val-de-Cognac 3,471 · 12.5 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Chaniers 3,651 · 14.4 mi | 50.9 | 29% | 4% | 2% |
| Saintes 25,363 · 15.8 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2.7% | 5.5% |
| Cognac 18,532 · 16.5 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 2.8% | 6.3% |
| Saint-Georges-des-Coteaux 2,843 · 17 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 2.4% | 2.1% |
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 Varaize
What is the population of Varaize?
533 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (560).
How old are Varaize’s residents?
The median age is 53.8, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Varaize?
45, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Varaize?
INSEE counts 20 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.8% of residents, and 18 foreign nationals (3.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Varaize?
€25,880 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.