Half of Les Sables-d'Olonne is over 59.6, older than 98% of compared French towns
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, 53% of households are headed by a retired person here. For Les Sables-d'Olonne, the census puts couples with children at 13%. Few places have so few empty homes: 3.4% here, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns. This Vendée town had 49,603 residents in 26,590 households 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 Sables-d'Olonne
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 15,310 second homes and occasional dwellings in Les Sables-d'Olonne, 35% of its 43,360 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 48% 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 Les Sables-d'Olonne’s residents are under 59.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Les Sables-d'Olonne had 41,738 residents at the 2012 census and 49,603 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.
Les Sables-d'Olonne ranks above 96% of compared French towns on second homes: 35%
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
With households without a car at 13%, Les Sables-d'Olonne is ahead of 62% of compared French towns on that count. Few places have so few households in social housing: 6.7% here, fewer than in 78% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes. Roughly four in ten: 38% of homes are flats.
Les Sables-d'Olonne’s population changed by +19% since 2012, more than in 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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Vendée town +9%.
In Les Sables-d'Olonne, 42% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% 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 Sables-d'Olonne 59.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In Les Sables-d'Olonne, 7.9% of residents are 15 to 24, beside 11% in the typical compared French town. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer single-parent households than 96% of compared French towns: 6%
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
A household here holds 1.8 people on average. 44% of households are one person living alone, a higher share than in 83% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
€28,010 a year is the median standard of living here
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 median standard of living in Les Sables-d'Olonne is €28,010 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 71% of compared French towns. 9.2% of the population lives below the poverty line.
8.8% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 84% of compared French towns
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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional is 7.8%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 83% of compared French towns: 2.9% of residents are immigrants
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 83% of compared French towns. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. Foreign nationals: 1.8% of the total.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 92% of compared French towns: 20% of residents 15 and over are single
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
The share of married residents is 47%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Single residents make up 25% 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
The share of graduates of higher education is 28%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 45,931 to 53,567 people
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 Talence (30.5), the oldest Les Sables-d'Olonne (59.6).
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Les Sables-d'Olonne
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Sables-d'Olonne | 59.6 | 42% | 35% | 2.9% |
| L'Île-d'Olonne 2,802 · 4.3 mi | 50.5 | 26% | 11% | 1.4% |
| Sainte-Foy 2,717 · 4.8 mi | 43.4 | 19% | 5.7% | 2.3% |
| Talmont-Saint-Hilaire 8,492 · 7.1 mi | 56.2 | 35% | 43% | 2% |
| Brem-sur-Mer 2,993 · 7.4 mi | 60.2 | 42% | 39% | 1.4% |
| Les Achards 5,518 · 8.7 mi | 40.5 | 19% | 4.1% | 1.9% |
| Bretignolles-sur-Mer 5,344 · 9.7 mi | 62.9 | 46% | 65% | 2.5% |
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 Sables-d'Olonne
What is the population of Les Sables-d'Olonne?
49,603 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% more than in 2012 (41,738).
How old are Les Sables-d'Olonne’s residents?
The median age is 59.6, older than 98% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Sables-d'Olonne?
15,310, with occasional dwellings: 35% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Sables-d'Olonne?
INSEE counts 1,440 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 890 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Sables-d'Olonne?
€28,010 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.2% 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.