A median age of 16: Vernay is younger than 99% of compared French towns
A quarter of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, nearly one in ten homes stand empty. One-person households are rarer here than in 94% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 124 people lived in Vernay, in 22 households.
Throughout this page, the Rhône 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 Vernay
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 8 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vernay, 24% of its 33 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
A young town
Half of Vernay’s residents are under 16 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are under 15 and 9.7% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 0 immigrants in Vernay (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 27% of residents, against 8.2% for the median compared commune in Rhône. 24% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Growing fast
Vernay had 103 residents at the 2012 census and 124 in 2023, up 20%: faster growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Vernay ranks above 94% of compared French towns on second 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
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
A +20% change since 2012: faster than 91% 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 compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Rhône town +10%. The change was −2% from 2012 to 2017 and +23% from 2017 to 2023.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 9.7% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vernay 16. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 27%, Vernay is ahead of 99% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
33% women, 67% men
About 49 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
22 households; 25% are one person
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 Rhône median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. There are 2.6 people in the average household.
Vernay sits below 83% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (25%)
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
Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, nearly a third 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).
In Vernay, 27% of residents are immigrants, more than in 97% 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.
With foreign nationals at 24%, Vernay is ahead of 98% of compared French towns on that count. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
50% of residents 15 and over are single, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 31% of residents 15 and over are married here. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 99% of compared French towns: 42%
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 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Vernay has 21%. As a reference point, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 124 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 16 in Vernay to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Every neighbor is older than Vernay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernay | 16 | 9.7% | 24% | 27% |
| Chauffailles 3,638 · 10 mi | 58.1 | 39% | 6.3% | 6% |
| Belleville-en-Beaujolais 14,016 · 10.2 mi | 39.6 | 18% | 1.2% | 11% |
| Cours 4,306 · 10.9 mi | 51.1 | 31% | 5.8% | 4.7% |
| La Chapelle-de-Guinchay 4,018 · 11.4 mi | 42.8 | 19% | 3.1% | 4.4% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Reneins 4,677 · 11.4 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 2.3% | 5.1% |
| Montmerle-sur-Saône 3,799 · 12.1 mi | 46 | 23% | 1.9% | 3.7% |
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 Vernay
What is the population of Vernay?
124 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 20% more than in 2012 (103).
How old are Vernay’s residents?
The median age is 16, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 64% are under 18 and 9.7% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vernay?
8, with occasional dwellings: 24% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vernay?
INSEE counts 33 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 27% of residents, and 30 foreign nationals (24%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.