Aizenay ranks below 93% of compared French towns on empty homes: 3.4%
Where 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, Aizenay has 32%. Census figures put flats at 7.4% in the town. With a median age of 40.3, Aizenay is younger than 77% of compared French towns. The town’s 4,330 households held 10,365 residents at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Vendée 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 Aizenay
Growing fast
Aizenay had 8,494 residents at the 2012 census and 10,365 in 2023, up 22%: faster growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+22% since 2012, a pace 92% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +12%; from 2017 to 2023, +9%.
Aizenay ranks below 75% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 18%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Aizenay 40.3. The median compared French town: 44.
For Aizenay, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 11%. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
29% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 81% 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 Vendée median and the France median
Living alone · share
Nothing unusual on single-parent households: 9.1%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 2.4 people. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of households without a car than 84% of compared French towns: 5.5%
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
One household in 18 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Lower than in 77% of compared French towns: 6.8% of households rent social housing (HLM). Across Aizenay, 1.3% of homes are second homes.
A median of €26,220 a year per consumption unit
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 midpoint of living standards here is €26,220 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 53% of compared French towns. 7.0% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
20% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 82% 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
Households headed by a retired person make up 29%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 7.5% in Aizenay. The usual figure: 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).
Aizenay sits below 96% of compared French towns for immigrants (1.6%)
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.
Foreign nationals: 1%, below 94% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents: 21%, a lower share than 85% of compared French towns
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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, 48% of residents 15 and over are married in Aizenay. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Aizenay ranks below 57% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 28%
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
Put another way, about one in six: 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (10,218 to 10,532 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 Serris (33.5), the oldest Fouesnant (57).
Around Aizenay, 5 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aizenay | 40.3 | 18% | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| Le Poiré-sur-Vie 8,649 · 5.5 mi | 42.1 | 18% | 1.8% | 1.3% |
| Venansault 4,757 · 5.7 mi | 44.6 | 20% | 0.7% | 2.3% |
| Mouilleron-le-Captif 5,273 · 7.3 mi | 46 | 23% | 3.8% | 2.2% |
| Coëx 3,428 · 7.7 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 9.8% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Christophe-du-Ligneron 2,727 · 8.9 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 2.9% | 2.2% |
| Sainte-Flaive-des-Loups 2,585 · 8.9 mi | 40.2 | 17% | 3% | 1.1% |
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 Aizenay
What is the population of Aizenay?
10,365 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 22% more than in 2012 (8,494).
How old are Aizenay’s residents?
The median age is 40.3, younger than 77% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Aizenay?
57, with occasional dwellings: 1.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Aizenay?
INSEE counts 170 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 100 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Aizenay?
€26,220 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 7.0% 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 October 30, 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.