L'Île-d'Yeu: 60% of homes are second homes, above 98% of compared French towns
In L'Île-d'Yeu, 46% of households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. The 2023 Census counted 4,883 residents in 2,360 households. The share of single-parent households stands at 6.6%. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 7.3%, fewer than in 96% 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'Île-d'Yeu
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 3,800 second homes and occasional dwellings in L'Île-d'Yeu, 60% of its 6,310 homes: higher than in 98% 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'Île-d'Yeu’s residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
2.6% of homes are flats, below 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
The share of households in social housing is 4.6%, against 12% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Census figures put empty homes at 2.4% in L'Île-d'Yeu. On households without a car, L'Île-d'Yeu sits higher than 72% of compared French towns: 16%.
Since 2012, L'Île-d'Yeu has grown +7%, faster than 58% 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
In two steps, +5% to 2017 and +2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +9% in Vendée.
L'Île-d'Yeu is older than 92% of compared French towns: a median age of 53.9
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'Yeu 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 33% of residents are 65 or over in L'Île-d'Yeu.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
Below 71% of compared French towns: 21% of households are couples with children
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: 2 people. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, against 36% in L'Île-d'Yeu.
Median standard of living: €26,500 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €26,500 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 56% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 9.0%.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 79% of compared French towns, at 5.7%
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
Locally, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker. Elsewhere, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 1.2%
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.
With foreign nationals at 0.8%, L'Île-d'Yeu is behind 97% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents: 18%, a lower share than 97% 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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in L'Île-d'Yeu, 51%. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 22%, a lower share than 79% 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
The figure for adults with no qualification is 21% in L'Île-d'Yeu and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
41 French towns of 4,845 to 4,922 people: this is the 6th 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.
Mourmelon-le-Grand is the youngest (30.8); Quiberon the oldest (63.9).
L'Île-d'Yeu and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'Île-d'Yeu | 53.9 | 33% | 60% | 1.2% |
| Saint-Jean-de-Monts 8,868 · 15.2 mi | 60.2 | 41% | 67% | 2% |
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'Yeu
What is the population of L'Île-d'Yeu?
4,883 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (4,575).
How old are L'Île-d'Yeu’s residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in L'Île-d'Yeu?
3,800, with occasional dwellings: 60% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in L'Île-d'Yeu?
INSEE counts 56 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.2% of residents, and 38 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in L'Île-d'Yeu?
€26,500 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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.