In Vif, 29% of households are couples with children, more than in 71% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Vif comes in at 11%. The census found that 8.2% of households have no car in the town. Flats are more common here than in three fifths of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 8,530, in 3,700 households.
Throughout this page, the Isère 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.
Vif grew +7% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 59% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +7% for the median Isère town, the change came in two steps: +7% from 2012 to 2017, then ±0% to 2023.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 61% of compared French towns: 20%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vif 44.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Little separates the share of residents aged 15 to 24 here, 11%, from the figure in the typical compared French town. With a median age of 44.2, Vif is older than 51% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 68% of compared French towns: 32%
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 Isère median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.3 people. To put it in context, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. 9.7% of households are single parents, a lower share than in 55% of compared French towns.
Vif ranks below 73% of compared French towns on empty homes: 5.1%
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
On second homes, 1.5% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. Locally, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM).
€29,460 a year: the median standard of living
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €29,460 a year: higher than in 81% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 8.0% of residents.
13% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 69% 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
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person, or about one in three. To put it in context, 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).
2.4% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 73% 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.
5.1% of residents are immigrants, against 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Isère has 8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 62% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Above 68% of compared French towns: 45% of residents 15 and over are married
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
In Vif, 23% of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Vif sits above 70% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (36%)
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
15% of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 8,443 to 8,618 people: this is the 21st oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Varces-Allières-et-Risset is the youngest (35.8); Le Grau-du-Roi the oldest (62.3).
Around Vif, 3 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vif | 44.2 | 20% | 1.5% | 5.1% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Commiers 2,699 · 1.9 mi | 43 | 21% | 1.5% | 4% |
| Varces-Allières-et-Risset 8,542 · 3.1 mi | 35.8 | 15% | 1.4% | 5.5% |
| Champ-sur-Drac 3,335 · 3.4 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 1.2% | 6.1% |
| Claix 7,836 · 4.9 mi | 47.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 5.2% |
| Vizille 7,292 · 5.2 mi | 44 | 23% | 2.4% | 8% |
| Jarrie 3,952 · 5.4 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 1.3% | 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 Vif
What is the population of Vif?
8,530 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (7,975).
How old are Vif’s residents?
The median age is 44.2, older than 51% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vif?
58, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vif?
INSEE counts 430 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.1% of residents, and 200 foreign nationals (2.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vif?
€29,460 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 8.0% 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 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.