Photo: jean-louis zimmermann · CC BY 2.0Pernes-les-Fontaines sits below 93% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (8%)
With second homes at 5.1%, Pernes-les-Fontaines is ahead of 77% of compared French towns on that count. The town is home to 10,504 residents in 4,770 households, by the 2023 Census. On the census count, 5.9% of households have no car. Compared with other places, households headed by a manual worker are scarce here: 9.2%, fewer than in 81% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Vaucluse 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.
Pernes-les-Fontaines’s population moved +1% on 2012, less than in 67% 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 Vaucluse town changed +7% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −8% and the next six +9%.
Older than 78% of compared French towns: half of Pernes-les-Fontaines is over 48.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Pernes-les-Fontaines 48.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, a quarter of residents are 65 or over here.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vaucluse 51.9%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 33%, a lower share than 64% 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 Vaucluse median and the France median
Living alone · share
Couples with children make up 27%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%. Each household has 2.2 people on average.
Below 79% of compared French towns: 6.7% of households rent social housing (HLM)
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
20% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing is 12%. For Pernes-les-Fontaines, the census puts empty homes at 6.8%.
A median standard of living of €27,370 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.
Living standards centre on €27,370 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 65% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 12.0% of residents.
13% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 67% of compared French towns
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
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, 35% of households are headed by a retired person here. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.5% of residents are foreign nationals, below 72% 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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Vaucluse has 6.8%. The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. About one in 21: that is how common immigrants are in Pernes-les-Fontaines (4.8%).
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 78% of compared French towns, at 22%
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%; Pernes-les-Fontaines has 47%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Pernes-les-Fontaines sits above 67% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (35%)
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 about one in six here (18%). Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (10,343 to 10,661 people), the 5th 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.
Ages run from 35.9 in Charvieu-Chavagneux to 59.6 in La Londe-les-Maures.
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Pernes-les-Fontaines
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pernes-les-Fontaines | 48.8 | 25% | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| Velleron 3,168 · 2.9 mi | 49.5 | 26% | 7% | 4.9% |
| Monteux 13,301 · 3.6 mi | 42.1 | 19% | 2.3% | 9% |
| Carpentras 31,619 · 4 mi | 43.5 | 23% | 2.6% | 18% |
| Althen-des-Paluds 2,960 · 4.5 mi | 45.1 | 21% | 2.7% | 4.4% |
| Mazan 6,285 · 5.2 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 9.4% | 5.2% |
| L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue 20,244 · 5.4 mi | 49.1 | 27% | 9.9% | 9% |
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 Pernes-les-Fontaines
What is the population of Pernes-les-Fontaines?
10,504 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (10,429).
How old are Pernes-les-Fontaines’ residents?
The median age is 48.8, older than 78% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Pernes-les-Fontaines?
270, with occasional dwellings: 5.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Pernes-les-Fontaines?
INSEE counts 510 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.8% of residents, and 260 foreign nationals (2.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Pernes-les-Fontaines?
€27,370 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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 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.