Below 96% of compared French towns: 4.6% of homes are flats
Here 27% of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. Households in social housing make up about one in 19 here (5.3%). At 5.2%, the share of households without a car is lower than in 87% of compared French towns. 5,518 residents in 2,250 households: that is Les Achards at the 2023 Census.
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 Les Achards
Growing fast
Les Achards had 4,683 residents at the 2012 census and 5,518 in 2023, up 18%: faster growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Les Achards outgrew 87% of compared French towns: +18%
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 change was +8% from 2012 to 2017 and +9% from 2017 to 2023.
Les Achards is younger than 77% of compared French towns: a median age of 40.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Les Achards 40.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.8% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 19%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
Les Achards sits below 92% of compared French towns for single-parent households (6.8%)
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
Households average 2.4 people. Measured more widely, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Les Achards has more couples with children than 83% of compared French towns, at 32%.
Les Achards sits above 71% of compared French towns for second homes (4.1%)
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
12% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 12% moved in within the last two years. The benchmark for second homes in the typical compared French town: 2.1%. Les Achards has fewer empty homes than three quarters of compared French towns, at 4.9%. Car-free households: one in 19, where the median compared French town has 11%.
Half above, half below €25,800 a year in standard of living
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 €25,800 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 52% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 8.0%.
Les Achards ranks above 86% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 21%
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 Les Achards, 6.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional, beside 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The census found that 31% of households are headed by a retired person here. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 93% of compared French towns, at 1.9%
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.
By its share of foreign nationals (1.3%), Les Achards is below 89% of compared French towns. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of single residents than 93% of compared French towns, at 20%
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 46% of residents 15 and over are married here. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 60% of compared French towns, at 27%
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 17% in Les Achards and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 5,451 to 5,585 people, the 8th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 36.5 in Ollainville to 60.8 in Penmarch.
Older than Les Achards: 5 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Achards | 40.5 | 19% | 4.1% | 1.9% |
| Sainte-Flaive-des-Loups 2,585 · 3.7 mi | 40.2 | 17% | 3% | 1.1% |
| Sainte-Foy 2,717 · 5 mi | 43.4 | 19% | 5.7% | 2.3% |
| L'Île-d'Olonne 2,802 · 6.5 mi | 50.5 | 26% | 11% | 1.4% |
| Nieul-le-Dolent 2,571 · 7.4 mi | 44.4 | 23% | 4.5% | 1.1% |
| Coëx 3,428 · 8.1 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 9.8% | 1.7% |
| Brem-sur-Mer 2,993 · 8.2 mi | 60.2 | 42% | 39% | 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 Les Achards
What is the population of Les Achards?
5,518 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% more than in 2012 (4,683).
How old are Les Achards’ residents?
The median age is 40.5, younger than 77% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Achards?
100, with occasional dwellings: 4.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Achards?
INSEE counts 100 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.9% of residents, and 73 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Achards?
€25,800 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 8.0% 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.