Varzy is older than 95% of compared French towns: a median age of 55.5
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 1.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. On the census count, 15% of households are couples with children. 5.1% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 86% of compared French towns. Varzy is home to 1,069 residents in 480 households, by the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Nièvre 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 Varzy
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 200 second homes and occasional dwellings in Varzy, 22% of its 890 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 96% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Varzy had 1,296 residents at the 2012 census and 1,069 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Varzy’s residents are under 55.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 220 homes empty (24%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Varzy sits above 99% of compared French towns for empty homes (24%)
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
The share of households without a car is 17%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Varzy has more second homes than 94% of compared French towns, at 22%. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 10% of homes are flats, or about one in ten.
−18% since 2012: 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
In two steps, −6% to 2017 and −12% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −8% in Nièvre.
In Varzy, 37% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 96% 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
■ Varzy 55.5. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 12%, Varzy is ahead of 72% of compared French towns on that count. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Varzy ranks above 81% of compared French towns on one-person households: 44%
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 Nièvre median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 1.9 people. Against that, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households make up 9.6%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
€23,140 a year is the median standard of living here
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 median standard of living in Varzy is €23,140 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 80% of compared French towns.
48% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 96% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
On the census count, 15% of households are headed by a manual worker. 1.1% of Varzy’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 48% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 5.2% in Varzy, less than in 61% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Varzy comes in at 3.3%. Across the comparison, 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.
Only 37% of residents 15 and over are married in Varzy
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
Put another way, about one in four: 26% of residents 15 and over are single. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Graduates of higher education: 16%, a lower share than 96% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 33%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 1,069 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Varzy and the towns around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varzy | 55.5 | 37% | 22% | 5.2% |
| Clamecy 3,544 · 9 mi | 49.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 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 Varzy
What is the population of Varzy?
1,069 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (1,296).
How old are Varzy’s residents?
The median age is 55.5, older than 95% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Varzy?
200, with occasional dwellings: 22% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Varzy?
INSEE counts 56 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.2% of residents, and 36 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Varzy?
€23,140 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.