More couples with children than 99% of compared French towns: 50%
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Vélye, 2.4%. Nearly a fifth of households are headed by a manager or professional. The median age here is 39, lower than in 84% of compared French towns. This Marne town had 228 residents in 81 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the 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 Vélye
A town of families
50% of households are couples with children and 12% single parents with children; 23% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Vélye had 169 residents at the 2012 census and 228 in 2023, up 35%: faster growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +35% change since 2012: faster than 98% 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 +16%, and from 2017 to 2023 +16%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Marne town −2%.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 97% of compared French towns: 12%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vélye 39. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.7%, below 86% of compared French towns. Typically, 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: Marne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
6.3% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 99% 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 Marne median and the France median
Living alone · share
By its share of single-parent households (12%), Vélye is above 83% of compared French towns. Each household has 2.8 people on average. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%.
Below 76% of compared French towns: 4.9% of homes stand empty
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
In Vélye, 1% of homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Half above, half below €26,770 a year in 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €26,770 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 59% of compared French towns.
Below 96% of compared French towns: 19% of households are headed by a retired person
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 14% in the typical compared French town, 12% of households are headed by a manual worker in Vélye. Against that, 32% 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).
0.9% of residents are immigrants, below 99% 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.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Vélye, 17% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Vélye has 51%. By way of comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Vélye ranks below 59% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 27%
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
Where nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Vélye has 17%. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 2nd youngest 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 young as Vélye
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vélye | 39 | 12% | 1% | 0.9% |
| Blancs-Coteaux 3,080 · 5.4 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 3.9% | 1.9% |
| Fagnières 4,858 · 10.2 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 0.8% | 9.3% |
| Châlons-en-Champagne 42,971 · 11.9 mi | 41.2 | 21% | 2.5% | 10% |
| Aÿ-Champagne 5,103 · 12.2 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 3.2% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Memmie 5,441 · 12.7 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 0.8% | 7.4% |
| Épernay 22,174 · 12.8 mi | 44 | 23% | 5.2% | 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 Vélye
What is the population of Vélye?
228 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 35% more than in 2012 (169).
How old are Vélye’s residents?
The median age is 39, younger than 84% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vélye?
1, with occasional dwellings: 1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vélye?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.9% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vélye?
€26,770 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.