16% of homes stand empty, more than in 96% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Vierzon comes in at 42%. This Cher town counted 25,068 residents and 12,470 households at the 2023 Census. The share of households without a car stands at 22%. Half of the town’s residents are over 49.1, older than in 80% of compared French towns.
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 Vierzon
Fewer residents than in 2012
Vierzon had 27,081 residents at the 2012 census and 25,068 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 2,340 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Vierzon changed by −7% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 94% 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
The median Cher town changed −4% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −4% and the next six −3%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 30% in Vierzon, more than in 85% 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
■ Vierzon 49.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 10%, below 63% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Below 88% of compared French towns: 16% of households are couples with children
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
Just over one in ten households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). Few places have as many one-person households: 46% here, more than in 87% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 2 people.
Vierzon sits above 59% of compared French towns for households in social housing (14%)
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
Car-free households: one in five, where the median compared French town has 11%. To put it in context, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Census figures put flats at 33% in Vierzon. Compared with other places, second homes are scarce here: 2%, fewer than in 52% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €21,170 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 midpoint of living standards here is €21,170 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 93% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 26.7% of residents.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 5.4% in Vierzon, less than in 82% 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 manual worker: 16%, above 64% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 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).
In Vierzon, 13% of residents are immigrants, more than in 82% 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 figure for foreign nationals is 11% in Vierzon and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Cher has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 82% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Vierzon sits below 76% of compared French towns for married residents (39%)
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: 29%, above three quarters of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Vierzon, 32% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 95% 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
Graduates of higher education: 18% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (23,840 to 26,241 people), the 4th 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.
The youngest is Les Pavillons-sous-Bois (35), the oldest Biarritz (55.2).
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Vierzon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vierzon | 49.1 | 30% | 2% | 13% |
| Méreau 2,632 · 2.5 mi | 47.8 | 25% | 4.3% | 3.2% |
| Mehun-sur-Yèvre 6,380 · 9 mi | 50.7 | 29% | 2.1% | 7.4% |
| Salbris 4,809 · 14 mi | 54.2 | 32% | 6.5% | 9.2% |
| Villefranche-sur-Cher 2,678 · 15.3 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 6.1% | 3.8% |
| Saint-Martin-d'Auxigny 2,546 · 15.7 mi | 41 | 18% | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| Saint-Doulchard 9,647 · 16.1 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 0.8% | 7% |
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 Vierzon
What is the population of Vierzon?
25,068 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (27,081).
How old are Vierzon’s residents?
The median age is 49.1, older than 80% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vierzon?
300, with occasional dwellings: 2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vierzon?
INSEE counts 3,370 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 2,760 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vierzon?
€21,170 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 26.7% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.