Older than 92% of compared French towns: half of Villebois-Lavalette is over 53.9
In Villebois-Lavalette, nearly one in ten homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Flats: a tenth of the total. The town has fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 75% of compared French towns, at 6.2%. At the 2023 Census, 717 people lived here, in 320 households.
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 Villebois-Lavalette
An older town
Half of Villebois-Lavalette’s residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 36% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 51 homes empty (13%): 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 change of −3% since 2012 leaves Villebois-Lavalette behind 82% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Charente town +1%.
Villebois-Lavalette sits above 95% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (36%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Villebois-Lavalette 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Villebois-Lavalette comes in at 8.8%. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
37% of households are one person living alone, a share 59% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 median and the France median
Living alone · share
There is little gap on single-parent households: 9.2%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. For Villebois-Lavalette, the census puts couples with children at 26%.
A larger share of empty homes than 91% 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
In Villebois-Lavalette, 7.4% of households have no car, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing: 5.7% of the total. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €24,130 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.
Living standards centre on €24,130 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
The largest group of households: retired (32%)
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
In Villebois-Lavalette, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals: 5.7%, a higher share than 62% 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 has 4.8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 51% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The census found that 6.6% of residents are immigrants in Villebois-Lavalette.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Villebois-Lavalette sits below 73% of compared French towns for single residents (23%)
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
Locally, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Villebois-Lavalette sits above 85% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (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
Graduates of higher education: 24%, below 71% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 717 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).
No nearby town is as old as Villebois-Lavalette
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villebois-Lavalette | 53.9 | 36% | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| Soyaux 10,087 · 12 mi | 42 | 23% | 1.5% | 16% |
| La Couronne 7,765 · 12.4 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 2.1% | 6.3% |
| Magnac-sur-Touvre 3,255 · 12.7 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 2% | 3.3% |
| Angoulême 41,908 · 12.9 mi | 39.9 | 21% | 3.1% | 11% |
| L'Isle-d'Espagnac 5,682 · 13.1 mi | 49.7 | 30% | 0.9% | 6.3% |
| Roullet-Saint-Estèphe 4,357 · 13.5 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 2.9% |
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 Villebois-Lavalette
What is the population of Villebois-Lavalette?
717 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (740).
How old are Villebois-Lavalette’s residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 36% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Villebois-Lavalette?
36, with occasional dwellings: 8.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Villebois-Lavalette?
INSEE counts 48 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.6% of residents, and 41 foreign nationals (5.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Villebois-Lavalette?
€24,130 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.