Vasselay sits above 96% of compared French towns for couples with children (37%)
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 1,579 people lived in Vasselay, in 660 households. 1.8% of homes are flats. With residents aged 15 to 24 at 7%, Vasselay is behind 97% of compared French towns on that count.
Throughout this page, the Cher 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 Vasselay
A town of families
37% of households are couples with children and 5.5% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Vasselay had 1,213 residents at the 2012 census and 1,579 in 2023, up 30%: faster growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +30% change since 2012: Vasselay grew faster than 96% 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, +19% to 2017 and +9% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −4% in Cher.
A median age of 39.8: Vasselay is younger than 80% 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
■ Vasselay 39.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 17% here and 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Vasselay ranks below 95% of compared French towns on one-person households: 24%
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 Cher median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 2.4 people each. 5.5% of households are single parents, a lower share than in 98% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of households without a car than 98% of compared French towns, at 3.3%
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
Turnover: 9.1% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 26% have lived in their home 30 years or more. Households without a car make up 11% in the typical compared French town. Empty homes are rarer here than in just over three quarters of compared French towns. Second homes: 1.9%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €28,650 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 €28,650 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 76% of compared French towns.
In Vasselay, 38% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 76% 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 make up 11%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Vasselay has fewer households headed by a manual worker than 55% of compared French towns, at 13%. In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 3.6% of residents are immigrants in Vasselay
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Vasselay, 1.7%. Elsewhere, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 77% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Cher has 4.6%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 17% of residents 15 and over are single
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 the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Vasselay has 48%. By way of comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In Vasselay, 12% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 88% 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
35% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification (typical compared French town: 30%). Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 1,579 to 2,582 people, the 2nd youngest
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).
Vasselay is younger than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vasselay | 39.8 | 17% | 1.9% | 3.6% |
| Saint-Martin-d'Auxigny 2,546 · 3.1 mi | 41 | 18% | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| Saint-Doulchard 9,647 · 3.7 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 0.8% | 7% |
| Bourges 64,186 · 5.1 mi | 42.4 | 23% | 3.2% | 11% |
| Saint-Germain-du-Puy 4,779 · 6 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 0.9% | 4.8% |
| La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin 3,681 · 7.1 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 0.6% | 4.3% |
| Mehun-sur-Yèvre 6,380 · 7.9 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 2.1% | 7.4% |
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 Vasselay
What is the population of Vasselay?
1,579 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 30% more than in 2012 (1,213).
How old are Vasselay’s residents?
The median age is 39.8, younger than 80% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vasselay?
14, with occasional dwellings: 1.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vasselay?
INSEE counts 56 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.6% of residents, and 27 foreign nationals (1.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vasselay?
€28,650 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.