Below 99% of compared French towns: 2.3% of homes are flats
Here 3.9% of households have no car, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. In 2023, the Census found 5,515 residents in La Garnache, living in 2,390 households. On the census count, 2.1% of households rent social housing (HLM). At 21%, the share of households headed by a manual worker is higher than in 86% 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 La Garnache
Growing fast
La Garnache had 4,630 residents at the 2012 census and 5,515 in 2023, up 19%: faster growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
La Garnache grew +19% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 89% 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 +8% to 2017, then +10% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +9% in Vendée.
Below 88% of compared French towns: 8.5% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Garnache 44.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over come to 21% in La Garnache, about two in ten. Half of the town’s residents are over 44.2, older than in just over half of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 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%.
29% of households are one person living alone, below 79% 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
Single-parent households: 8.8% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. There are 2.3 people in the average household. 27% of households are couples with children, more than in 58% of compared French towns.
97% of homes are houses
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
Turnover: just over one in ten households moved in less than two years ago, and 17% have lived in their home 30 years or more. On second homes, La Garnache sits higher than 56% of compared French towns: 2.5%. At 6.9%, the share of empty homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €25,600 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.
At €25,600 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 54% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 9.0% of residents are below the line.
La Garnache sits below 80% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (5.5%)
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
On the census count, 32% of households are headed by a retired person. Elsewhere, 9.4% of 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).
Immigrants: 1.4%, a lower share than 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.
0.9% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. 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.
Fewer single residents than 95% of compared French towns: 19%
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
Here half of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Only 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in La Garnache
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
In La Garnache, 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.
Ranked by age, 18th youngest of 41 French towns this size
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 Ollainville (36.5), the oldest Penmarch (60.8).
5 of 6 neighbors are older than La Garnache
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Garnache | 44.2 | 21% | 2.5% | 1.4% |
| Challans 22,943 · 4.2 mi | 52.5 | 33% | 3% | 2.9% |
| Sallertaine 3,518 · 5.4 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 8.3% | 1.6% |
| Saint-Christophe-du-Ligneron 2,727 · 6.1 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 2.9% | 2.2% |
| Soullans 4,654 · 7.2 mi | 53.5 | 31% | 7.3% | 1.7% |
| Machecoul-Saint-Même 7,689 · 7.3 mi | 47.3 | 26% | 2.7% | 3% |
| Saint-Gervais 2,781 · 7.6 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 La Garnache
What is the population of La Garnache?
5,515 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% more than in 2012 (4,630).
How old are La Garnache’s residents?
The median age is 44.2, older than 51% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Garnache?
66, with occasional dwellings: 2.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Garnache?
INSEE counts 75 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 50 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Garnache?
€25,600 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 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.