Photo: mwanasimba from La Réunion · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Jard-sur-Mer is over 68.1, older than 99% of compared French towns
Where 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Jard-sur-Mer has 70%. Meanwhile, 1.3% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 98% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census Jard-sur-Mer was home to 3,235 people in 1,820 households. On the census count, nearly one in ten households are couples with children.
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 Jard-sur-Mer
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 2,880 second homes and occasional dwellings in Jard-sur-Mer, 59% of its 4,860 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 83% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Jard-sur-Mer’s residents are under 68.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 60% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 16% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Jard-sur-Mer had 2,635 residents at the 2012 census and 3,235 in 2023, up 23%: faster growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 59%, a higher share than 98% 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
8% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town. For Jard-sur-Mer, the census puts empty homes at 3.3%. Compared with other places, flats are scarce here: 13%, fewer than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
Jard-sur-Mer grew +23% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 93% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +1%, and from 2017 to 2023 +22%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Vendée town +9%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 60% in Jard-sur-Mer, more than in 99% 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
■ Jard-sur-Mer 68.1. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 3.5% in Jard-sur-Mer. 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 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Single-parent households: 3%, a lower share than 99% 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
Each household has 1.7 people on average. On average, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Jard-sur-Mer has more one-person households than 64% of compared French towns, at 39%.
€28,440 a year: the median 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.
At €28,440 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 74% of compared French towns. 7.0% of the population lives below the poverty line.
3.6% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 99% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Jard-sur-Mer has 5%. Against that, 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).
In Jard-sur-Mer, 2.1% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 90% 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.
0.9% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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.
61% of residents 15 and over are married, 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
By its share of single residents (11%), Jard-sur-Mer is below 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Graduates of higher education: 23%, a lower share than 77% 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
21% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 3,210 to 3,261 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 32.2 in Ormoy to 68.1 in Jard-sur-Mer.
Jard-sur-Mer is older than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jard-sur-Mer | 68.1 | 60% | 59% | 2.1% |
| Talmont-Saint-Hilaire 8,492 · 4 mi | 56.2 | 35% | 43% | 2% |
| Longeville-sur-Mer 2,625 · 4.7 mi | 62.9 | 45% | 62% | 2.3% |
| La Tranche-sur-Mer 3,136 · 8.3 mi | 64.6 | 49% | 79% | 2.2% |
| Angles 3,115 · 8.6 mi | 65.2 | 50% | 29% | 2.6% |
| Sainte-Foy 2,717 · 9.2 mi | 43.4 | 19% | 5.7% | 2.3% |
| Les Sables-d'Olonne 49,603 · 10.8 mi | 59.6 | 42% | 35% | 2.9% |
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 Jard-sur-Mer
What is the population of Jard-sur-Mer?
3,235 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 23% more than in 2012 (2,635).
How old are Jard-sur-Mer’s residents?
The median age is 68.1, older than 99% of compared French towns. 6.1% are under 18 and 60% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Jard-sur-Mer?
2,880, with occasional dwellings: 59% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Jard-sur-Mer?
INSEE counts 69 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 30 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Jard-sur-Mer?
€28,440 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 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.