L'Épine is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 58.5
Flats make up 1.6%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. L'Épine counted 1,636 residents and 860 households at the 2023 Census. In L'Épine, 1.5% of homes stand empty. Few places have as many households headed by a retired person: 57% here, more than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 L'Épine
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,460 second homes and occasional dwellings in L'Épine, 62% of its 2,360 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 99% 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 L'Épine’s residents are under 58.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In L'Épine, 62% of homes are second homes, more than in 99% 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
7.3% of households arrived within the last two years, while 23% have stayed 30 years or more. At 3.5%, the share of households in social housing is lower than in 92% of compared French towns. The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. There is little gap on households without a car: 11%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
−3% since 2012: slower than 81% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Vendée town +9%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns: 40%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ L'Épine 58.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 6.7%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of couples with children than 93% of compared French towns, at 14%
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
Average household size: 1.9 people. Set beside that, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. One-person households: 42%, above 76% of compared French towns.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €24,800 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,800 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
Below 94% of compared French towns: 5.8% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
6.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 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).
1.2% of residents are immigrants, below 98% 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.
The median compared commune in Vendée has 2.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 98% of compared French towns. Against that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 1% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
L'Épine ranks above 86% of compared French towns on married residents: 49%
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
The share of single residents is 21%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education make up 25% in L'Épine, less than in 68% 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
Here, 20% of adults out of school have no qualification. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,636 to 2,582 people), the 4th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Of the 6 towns nearest L'Épine, 3 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'Épine | 58.5 | 40% | 62% | 1.2% |
| Noirmoutier-en-l'Île 4,505 · 2.3 mi | 59.2 | 39% | 69% | 1.8% |
| Beauvoir-sur-Mer 4,035 · 11.7 mi | 61.5 | 42% | 13% | 1.8% |
| La Plaine-sur-Mer 4,760 · 12.2 mi | 56.6 | 37% | 47% | 1.6% |
| Pornic 18,745 · 12.8 mi | 56.2 | 35% | 32% | 2.4% |
| La Bernerie-en-Retz 3,536 · 13.3 mi | 61.4 | 42% | 55% | 1.3% |
| Saint-Gervais 2,781 · 14.1 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 9.3% | 1.4% |
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 L'Épine
What is the population of L'Épine?
1,636 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (1,684).
How old are L'Épine’s residents?
The median age is 58.5, older than 97% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in L'Épine?
1,460, with occasional dwellings: 62% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in L'Épine?
INSEE counts 20 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.2% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in L'Épine?
€24,800 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 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.