La Vernarède is older than 99% of compared French towns: a median age of 60.9
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 52% in La Vernarède. The town counted 364 residents and 210 households at the 2023 Census. Couples with children: nearly a tenth of the total. More empty homes than in 83% of compared French towns: 11%.
Throughout this page, the Gard 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 La Vernarède
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 140 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Vernarède, 36% of its 380 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 81% 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 La Vernarède’s residents are under 60.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
36% of homes are second homes, more than in 96% 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
9.4% of households have no car (typical compared French town: 11%). The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Here, just over a fifth of homes are flats. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
+7% since 2012, a pace 59% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +7% for the median Gard town, the change came in two steps: −1% from 2012 to 2017, then +8% to 2023.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 4.3% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Vernarède 60.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 38%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Gard 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Above 87% of compared French towns: 47% of households are one person living alone
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 Gard median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 1.8 people in the average household. Fewer single-parent households than in 54% of compared French towns: 9.8%. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
€21,780 a year is the median standard of living here
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.
Half of La Vernarède’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €21,780 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 90% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 89% of compared French towns: 4.6%
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
6.9% of households are headed by a manual worker; in the typical compared French town the figure is 14%. Typically, nearly one in ten 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).
Immigrants make up 9.5% in La Vernarède, more than in 68% 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 Gard has 6.6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 68% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Here, 5% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
47% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 80% 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
With single residents at 22%, La Vernarède is behind 75% of compared French towns on that count. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 73% of compared French towns: 24%
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
Locally, a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 4th oldest of 41 French towns of 364 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Every neighbor is younger than La Vernarède
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Vernarède | 60.9 | 38% | 36% | 9.5% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 4.7 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| La Grand-Combe 4,783 · 4.9 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1% | 11% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 8.9 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Saint-Martin-de-Valgalgues 4,840 · 9.3 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 0.9% | 9.3% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 9.7 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| Rousson 4,456 · 9.8 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
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 La Vernarède
What is the population of La Vernarède?
364 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (340).
How old are La Vernarède’s residents?
The median age is 60.9, older than 99% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Vernarède?
140, with occasional dwellings: 36% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Vernarède?
INSEE counts 35 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.5% of residents, and 18 foreign nationals (5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Vernarède?
€21,780 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.