A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 0.7%
With households headed by a manager or professional at 5%, Le Bernard is behind 86% of compared French towns on that count. Single-parent households: 5.7% of the total. 1.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 98% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 1,319 residents in 610 households.
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 Le Bernard
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 270 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Bernard, 29% of its 920 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Le Bernard’s residents are under 52.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
29% of homes in Le Bernard are second homes
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
In the last two years, just over one in ten households moved in; at the other end, 13% have stayed 30 years or more. At 3.2%, the share of households without a car is lower than in 98% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. 4.4% of homes stand empty; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.7%.
+14% since 2012, a pace 78% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Vendée town +9%.
Half of Le Bernard is over 52.8, older than 90% 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
■ Le Bernard 52.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.3%, below 90% of compared French towns. Locally, 32% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 78% of compared French towns: 30%
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 2.2 people on average. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 23%, fewer than in 60% of compared French towns. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A median of €25,030 a year per consumption unit
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.
Living standards centre on €25,030 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 60% of compared French towns.
46% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Le Bernard, just over one in ten households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 3.2% of residents are immigrants in Le Bernard
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.
1.5% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. Elsewhere, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Vendée has 2.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in four fifths of compared French towns.
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 55%, Le Bernard is ahead of 99% of compared French towns on that count. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 81% of compared French towns: 21%
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
Adults with no qualification: nearly a fifth of the total. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 1,319 to 2,582 people: this is the 8th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Le Bernard 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Bernard | 52.8 | 32% | 29% | 3.2% |
| Longeville-sur-Mer 2,625 · 1.9 mi | 62.9 | 45% | 62% | 2.3% |
| Angles 3,115 · 3.6 mi | 65.2 | 50% | 29% | 2.6% |
| Jard-sur-Mer 3,235 · 6 mi | 68.1 | 60% | 59% | 2.1% |
| La Tranche-sur-Mer 3,136 · 6.3 mi | 64.6 | 49% | 79% | 2.2% |
| Talmont-Saint-Hilaire 8,492 · 8.5 mi | 56.2 | 35% | 43% | 2% |
| Nieul-le-Dolent 2,571 · 9.5 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 4.5% | 1.1% |
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 Le Bernard
What is the population of Le Bernard?
1,319 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% more than in 2012 (1,162).
How old are Le Bernard’s residents?
The median age is 52.8, older than 90% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Bernard?
270, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Bernard?
INSEE counts 42 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 20 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Bernard?
€25,030 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.