Vannes ranks below 95% of compared French towns on couples with children: 13%
In Vannes, 8.3% of homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. There were 30,100 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 55,790 residents. The census found that 15% of residents are 15 to 24 locally. 69% of homes are flats, more than in 89% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Morbihan 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 Vannes
Many people living alone
54% of Vannes’ households are one person: higher than in 98% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Growth of +6% since 2012 puts Vannes ahead of 55% 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 Morbihan town, the change came in two steps: +1% from 2012 to 2017, then +5% to 2023.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 77% of compared French towns: 27%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vannes 45.3. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Vannes is 45.3, higher than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Morbihan 51.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of one-person households than 98% of compared French towns: 54%
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 Morbihan median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 1.8 people. 7.4% of households are single parents, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone.
Households without a car: 18%, a higher share than 79% 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
Against a figure of 12% in the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing in Vannes comes in at 17%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%. On the census count, 8.7% of homes stand empty.
Half above, half below €27,430 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.
Half of Vannes’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €27,430 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 65% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 15.1% of residents are below the line.
Vannes ranks below 84% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 8.6%
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
With households headed by a retired person at 36%, Vannes is ahead of 70% of compared French towns on that count. As a yardstick, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. Across Vannes, 13% of households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of foreign nationals than 67% of compared French towns, at 6.6%
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 55% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Morbihan has 2.3%. The usual figure: 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The share of immigrants stands at 7.2%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer married residents than 93% of compared French towns: 33%
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
Single residents: 35%, above 92% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
43% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 85% 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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 13% of adults out of school have no qualification here. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 50,979 to 60,505 people, the 7th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Vaulx-en-Velin (32.5), the youngest, and Hyères (50.9), the oldest.
Vannes sits below 4 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
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 Vannes
What is the population of Vannes?
55,790 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (52,648).
How old are Vannes’ residents?
The median age is 45.3, older than 59% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vannes?
2,990, with occasional dwellings: 8.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vannes?
INSEE counts 4,020 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.2% of residents, and 3,690 foreign nationals (6.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vannes?
€27,430 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 15.1% 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.