Vaiges: 16% of homes stand empty, above 97% of compared French towns
The share of single-parent households trails 99% of compared French towns: 3.1%. At the 2023 Census, 1,178 people lived in Vaiges, in 490 households. The census found that 7.4% of homes are flats here. This Mayenne town has fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 92% of compared French towns, at 4.2%.
Throughout this page, the Mayenne 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 Vaiges
Empty homes
The census found 99 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of +2% since 2012 leaves Vaiges behind 60% 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 Mayenne town changed ±0% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +1% and the next six +1%.
A median age of 42.5: Vaiges is younger than 62% 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
■ Vaiges 42.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.7% here and 11% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Mayenne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of couples with children than 71% of compared French towns, at 29%
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 Mayenne median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.3 people share a household. By way of comparison, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Vaiges has fewer one-person households than 59% of compared French towns, at 33%.
Households in social housing: 5.2%, a lower share than 85% 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
At 2.9%, second homes sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. One in ten households have no car, or about one in ten.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,120 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 €24,120 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a manual worker than 86% of compared French towns: 21%
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
The share of households headed by a retired person is 36%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 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).
1.5% of residents are immigrants, below 96% 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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.9% of residents are foreign nationals here. Measured more widely, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
A lower share of single residents than 95% of compared French towns, at 19%
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
Here, 43% of residents 15 and over are married. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education make up 17% in Vaiges, less than in 93% 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
The share of adults with no qualification tops 90% of compared French towns: 29%. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 1,178 to 2,582 people, the 10th youngest
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).
Nearby, 5 of 6 towns have older populations than Vaiges
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaiges | 42.5 | 24% | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| Meslay-du-Maine 2,779 · 7.4 mi | 51.2 | 33% | 2.6% | 2.3% |
| Évron 8,252 · 8 mi | 50 | 29% | 2.5% | 3.9% |
| Montsûrs 3,192 · 8 mi | 45.1 | 25% | 5% | 2% |
| Argentré 2,906 · 8.2 mi | 42.3 | 18% | 0.9% | 1.7% |
| Bonchamp-lès-Laval 6,302 · 10.7 mi | 48.1 | 25% | 0.8% | 3.1% |
| Louverné 4,344 · 12.2 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 0.4% | 2.7% |
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 Vaiges
What is the population of Vaiges?
1,178 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (1,151).
How old are Vaiges’ residents?
The median age is 42.5, younger than 62% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vaiges?
17, with occasional dwellings: 2.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vaiges?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vaiges?
€24,120 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.