Vars sits below 97% of compared French towns for flats (4%)
By its share of households headed by a retired person (44%), Vars is above 91% of compared French towns. The census found that 6.3% of households are single parents in the town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The town had 176 residents in 80 households at the 2023 census.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Saône 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 Vars
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 12 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vars, 12% of its 99 homes: higher than in 89% 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
Vars had 196 residents at the 2012 census and 176 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
12% of homes in Vars are second homes
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 6.3% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 34%. To put it in context, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Few places have as many households without a car: 11% here, more than in 53% of compared French towns. Empty homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 7.1%.
A change of −10% since 2012 leaves Vars behind 97% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +4%, and from 2017 to 2023 −13%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Haute-Saône town −5%.
A median age of 49.5: Vars is older than 81% 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
■ Vars 49.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In Vars, 12% of residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. The census found that 26% of residents are 65 or over in the town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Saône 51.4%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 31% in Vars, more than in 81% 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-Saône median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.2 people in the average household. One-person households are rarer here than in 70% of compared French towns. The share of couples with children in the typical compared French town is 25%.
€24,460 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.
Living standards centre on €24,460 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 67% of compared French towns.
19% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 79% 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
Set against 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 6.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Vars. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Vars ranks below 78% of compared French towns on immigrants: 3.4%
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.
1.7% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 63% of compared French towns: 24% 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
44% of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education make up 19% in Vars, less 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
With adults with no qualification at 25%, Vars is ahead of 78% of compared French towns on that count. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The 14th oldest of 41 French towns of 176 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Vars 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vars | 49.5 | 26% | 12% | 3.4% |
| Gray 5,365 · 6.9 mi | 47.5 | 28% | 2.4% | 11% |
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 Vars
What is the population of Vars?
176 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (196).
How old are Vars’ residents?
The median age is 49.5, older than 81% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vars?
12, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vars?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (1.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vars?
€24,460 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.