25% of homes are second homes, more than in 94% of compared French towns
The share of couples with children trails 93% of compared French towns: 14%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 63 residents in 34 households. Roughly three in ten: 29% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Marne 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 Velles
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 13 second homes and occasional dwellings in Velles, 25% of its 52 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Velles had 77 residents at the 2012 census and 63 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Velles’ residents are under 52.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of empty homes than 80% of compared French towns, at 10%
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
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Newcomers of less than two years account for 5.7% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 37%. At 11%, the share of households without a car is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
Velles changed by −18% from 2012 to 2023, behind 99% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −14%; 2017 to 2023, −5%.
Velles is older than 90% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Velles 52.5. 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 Velles comes in at 9.2%. 28% of residents are 65 or over, or about one in four.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 117 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Marne 52.0%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 43%, a higher share than 79% of compared French towns
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 Haute-Marne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 1.9 people on average.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 90% of compared French towns, at 43%
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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, nearly a third 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 3.1% of residents are immigrants in Velles
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.
Foreign nationals: 1.5%, below 86% of compared French towns. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. The median compared commune in Haute-Marne has 7.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in just over four fifths 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.
Single residents: 18%, a lower share than 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
Against a figure of 43% in the typical compared French town, the share of married residents in Velles comes in at 39%. As a yardstick, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Velles sits below 99% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (11%)
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 Velles, 13% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The 8th oldest of 41 French towns of 63 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.
Velles and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velles | 52.5 | 28% | 25% | 3.1% |
| Port-sur-Saône 2,949 · 18 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 2.8% | 4.4% |
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 Velles
What is the population of Velles?
63 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (77).
How old are Velles’ residents?
The median age is 52.5, older than 90% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Velles?
13, with occasional dwellings: 25% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Velles?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.