L'Île-d'Olonne ranks below 99% of compared French towns on flats: 0.3%
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 1.4% of households rent social housing (HLM) in L'Île-d'Olonne. Just over a quarter of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 2,802 people lived locally, in 1,270 households. Locally, 4.4% of households have no car.
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'Île-d'Olonne
One home in nine is a second home
The census counted 160 second homes and occasional dwellings in L'Île-d'Olonne, 11% of its 1,540 homes: higher than in 88% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 11% in L'Île-d'Olonne, more than in 88% 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
6.7% of homes stand empty. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, L'Île-d'Olonne has changed by ±0%, slower than 70% 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
Here the change came as −4% to 2017, then +4% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +9% in Vendée.
A median age of 50.5: L'Île-d'Olonne is older than 84% 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
■ L'Île-d'Olonne 50.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 26% of residents are 65 or over in L'Île-d'Olonne. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 9% here, fewer than in 81% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 4.5%
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
28% of households are couples with children; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. The average household has 2.2 people. The usual figure: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €26,850 a year to live on
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 €26,850 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 60% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 7.0% of residents.
More households headed by a retired person than 80% of compared French towns: 39%
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
Here nearly a fifth of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. For comparison, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. The share of households headed by a manager or professional stands at 7.5%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; L'Île-d'Olonne has 0.5%. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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.
17% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% 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
With married residents at 54%, L'Île-d'Olonne is ahead of 98% of compared French towns on that count. Set beside that, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
L'Île-d'Olonne ranks below 65% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 16%
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, L'Île-d'Olonne has 26%. Across the comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 17th oldest of 41 French towns of 2,771 to 2,833 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.
The youngest is La Fère (39.7), the oldest Saint-Aignan (56.5).
3 of 6 neighbors are older than L'Île-d'Olonne
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'Île-d'Olonne | 50.5 | 26% | 11% | 1.4% |
| Brem-sur-Mer 2,993 · 3.3 mi | 60.2 | 42% | 39% | 1.4% |
| Les Sables-d'Olonne 49,603 · 4.3 mi | 59.6 | 42% | 35% | 2.9% |
| Sainte-Foy 2,717 · 5.5 mi | 43.4 | 19% | 5.7% | 2.3% |
| Bretignolles-sur-Mer 5,344 · 5.8 mi | 62.9 | 46% | 65% | 2.5% |
| Les Achards 5,518 · 6.5 mi | 40.5 | 19% | 4.1% | 1.9% |
| Coëx 3,428 · 9.2 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 9.8% | 1.7% |
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 L'Île-d'Olonne
What is the population of L'Île-d'Olonne?
2,802 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (2,804).
How old are L'Île-d'Olonne’s residents?
The median age is 50.5, older than 84% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in L'Île-d'Olonne?
160, with occasional dwellings: 11% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in L'Île-d'Olonne?
INSEE counts 40 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in L'Île-d'Olonne?
€26,850 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.