A smaller share of flats than 95% of compared French towns: 5.2%
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 3.6% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Saint-Varent. At the 2023 Census Saint-Varent was home to 2,395 people in 1,070 households. Census figures put single-parent households at 4.7% here. Compared with other places, households headed by a manager or professional are scarce here: 3.7%, fewer than in 94% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Deux-Sèvres 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 Saint-Varent
An older town
Half of Saint-Varent’s residents are under 51.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-Varent had 2,508 residents at the 2012 census and 2,395 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−5% since 2012, a pace below 86% 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 first five years brought −3%; the six to 2023, −2%.
Half of Saint-Varent is over 51.3, older than 87% 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-Varent 51.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over; in Saint-Varent, 31%. 8.6% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 58% of compared French towns: 34%
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 Deux-Sèvres median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.2 people. To put it in context, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. On couples with children, 25% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
11% of homes stand empty, more than in 85% 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 in ten households moved in less than two years ago; 31% have been in their home 30 years or more. Higher than in two thirds of compared French towns: 3.5% of homes are second homes. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty. Households without a car make up 9.1%, against 11% in the typical compared French town.
A median of €23,960 a year per consumption unit
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 €23,960 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 72% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 12.0% of residents.
45% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 93% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Here nearly a quarter of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. Measured more widely, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Saint-Varent sits below 91% of compared French towns for immigrants (2.1%)
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 1.8% in Saint-Varent and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
18% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 50% of residents 15 and over are married here. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
14% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 98% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Saint-Varent has 33%. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
11th highest median age among 41 French towns of 2,395 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
A younger town than 2 of the 6 around it: Saint-Varent
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Varent | 51.3 | 31% | 3.5% | 2.1% |
| Airvault 3,306 · 5.8 mi | 52.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 3.6% |
| Thouars 13,891 · 6.2 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 2.5% | 6.5% |
| Argentonnay 3,234 · 11.1 mi | 47.1 | 27% | 7.2% | 3.7% |
| Loretz-d'Argenton 2,575 · 11.8 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 5.8% | 2.9% |
| Bressuire 19,970 · 12.7 mi | 43.7 | 22% | 1.8% | 9.6% |
| Châtillon-sur-Thouet 2,656 · 15.9 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 1.3% | 3.4% |
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 Saint-Varent
What is the population of Saint-Varent?
2,395 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (2,508).
How old are Saint-Varent’s residents?
The median age is 51.3, older than 87% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Varent?
44, with occasional dwellings: 3.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Varent?
INSEE counts 50 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 44 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Varent?
€23,960 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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 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.