Half of Vayres is over 57.6, older than 97% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, one in ten households are single parents; in Vayres, 2.7%. The town is home to 703 residents in 370 households, by the 2023 Census. Here, 1.7% of homes are flats. Compared with other places, households in social housing are scarce here: 1.1%, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Vienne 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 Vayres
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vayres, 20% of its 580 homes: higher than in 93% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Vayres’ residents are under 57.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Vayres had 825 residents at the 2012 census and 703 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 98 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Vayres, 20% of homes are second homes, more than in 93% 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for nearly one in ten households, residents of 30 years or more for 33%. 17% of homes stand empty, more than in 97% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town. At 11%, households without a car sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Vayres has changed by −15%, slower than 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 median Haute-Vienne town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −9% and the next six −6%.
Vayres sits above 96% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (37%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vayres 57.6. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 6.5%, Vayres is behind 98% of compared French towns on that count. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Vienne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 19% in Vayres, less than in 80% 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-Vienne median and the France median
Living alone · share
The figure for one-person households is 40% in Vayres and 35% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Households average 1.9 people.
A median standard of living of €21,300 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.
Half of residents live in households above €21,300 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 92% of compared French towns.
53% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 98% 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% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. 6.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional. 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).
More immigrants than 85% of compared French towns: 15%
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 14% in Vayres and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Vayres ranks below 98% of compared French towns on single residents: 18%
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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, just over half of residents 15 and over are married in Vayres. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 90% of compared French towns: 18%
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
Set against 19% in the typical compared French town, 28% of adults out of school have no qualification in Vayres. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 5th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
No nearby town is as old as Vayres
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vayres | 57.6 | 37% | 20% | 15% |
| Rochechouart 3,603 · 4.3 mi | 56.7 | 37% | 11% | 6.4% |
| Saint-Junien 11,415 · 9.4 mi | 49.9 | 29% | 3.5% | 4.5% |
| Terres-de-Haute-Charente 3,777 · 13.8 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 5.1% | 7.6% |
| Oradour-sur-Glane 2,550 · 15 mi | 44.8 | 25% | 3.4% | 2.6% |
| Aixe-sur-Vienne 5,890 · 15.5 mi | 47.3 | 27% | 1.9% | 4.2% |
| Verneuil-sur-Vienne 4,903 · 15.9 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 3.3% | 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 Vayres
What is the population of Vayres?
703 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (825).
How old are Vayres’ residents?
The median age is 57.6, older than 97% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vayres?
120, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vayres?
INSEE counts 100 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 15% of residents, and 98 foreign nationals (14%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vayres?
€21,300 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 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.