Single-parent households make up 5.3% in Les Herbiers, less than in 98% of compared French towns
The figure for empty homes is 3.6% in Les Herbiers and 6.7% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census, 16,521 people lived locally, in 7,430 households. Households headed by a manual worker come to 20% locally, about two in ten. Lower than in 81% of compared French towns: 6.1% of households rent social housing (HLM).
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.
A +5% change since 2012: Les Herbiers grew faster than 52% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +2%; from 2017 to 2023, +4%.
Half of Les Herbiers is under 42.8, younger than 60% 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
■ Les Herbiers 42.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 11% in Les Herbiers, about one in ten. On residents aged 65 and over, Les Herbiers sits lower than 56% of compared French towns: 21%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 55% of compared French towns: 36%
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. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%. At 24%, the share of couples with children is lower than in 54% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households without a car than 77% of compared French towns, at 6.5%
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
Here 16% of homes are flats, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. Across Les Herbiers, 2% of homes are second homes. The comparison figure for households without a car is 11% in the typical compared French town.
€26,010 a year: the median 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €26,010 a year: higher than in 50% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 8.0% of residents.
More households headed by a manager or professional than 59% of compared French towns: 11%
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, 31% of households are headed by a retired person. As a yardstick, 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).
4.4% of residents are immigrants, below 70% 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.
The median compared commune in Vendée has 2.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 70% of compared French towns. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. Put another way, about one in 33: 3% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Les Herbiers: 47% of residents 15 and over are married, above 77% 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
Les Herbiers has fewer single residents than 58% of compared French towns, at 24%. The wider picture: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Above 60% of compared French towns: 21% of adults out of school have no qualification
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 Les Herbiers, 29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. Typically, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 15,925 to 17,064 people, the 18th 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.
Saint-Julien-en-Genevois is the youngest (35.4); La Baule-Escoublac the oldest (60.4).
Les Herbiers sits below 2 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Herbiers | 42.8 | 21% | 2% | 4.4% |
| La Gaubretière 3,225 · 5.5 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 2.5% | 1.9% |
| Les Epesses 2,983 · 5.6 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
| Mouchamps 3,015 · 6 mi | 40.9 | 18% | 3.2% | 2.7% |
| Chanverrie 5,653 · 6.1 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 2.7% | 2.3% |
| Le Boupère 3,151 · 6.6 mi | 44 | 23% | 4.4% | 1.3% |
| Saint-Fulgent 3,994 · 7.7 mi | 42.3 | 21% | 1% | 5.5% |
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 Herbiers
What is the population of Les Herbiers?
16,521 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (15,688).
How old are Les Herbiers’ residents?
The median age is 42.8, younger than 60% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Herbiers?
160, with occasional dwellings: 2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Herbiers?
INSEE counts 720 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.4% of residents, and 500 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Herbiers?
€26,010 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.