Fewer flats than 97% of compared French towns: 3.7%
In the typical compared French town, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM); in Mervent, 3.5%. Across Mervent, 7.9% of residents are 15 to 24. The town has fewer single-parent households than 96% of compared French towns, at 5.9%. 1,063 residents in 510 households: that is Mervent 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 Mervent
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Mervent, 17% of its 700 homes: higher than in 92% 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 Mervent’s residents are under 51.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Mervent: 17% of homes are second homes, above 92% of compared French towns
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
One household in 18 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households without a car account for 5.6%. Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 9.8%, more than in 78% of compared French towns.
Slower than most: ±0% since 2012, behind 69% 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%. The change was −1% from 2012 to 2017 and +1% from 2017 to 2023.
Mervent is older than 88% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mervent 51.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over; in Mervent, 27%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of couples with children than 72% of compared French towns: 20%
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
On average, 2.1 people share a household. As a yardstick, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Fewer one-person households than in 53% of compared French towns: 35%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,070 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €24,070 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 41% in Mervent, more than in 87% 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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 22% in Mervent. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 7.9% here. 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).
Mervent sits below 71% of compared French towns for immigrants (4.3%)
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.
About one in 26: that is how common foreign nationals are in Mervent (3.8%). The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Mervent ranks above 96% of compared French towns on married residents: 52%
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 25% in the typical compared French town, a fifth of residents 15 and over are single here. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns
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 the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Mervent has 24%. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,063 to 2,582 people), the 9th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Median age: 2 of the 6 towns around Mervent 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mervent | 51.8 | 27% | 17% | 4.3% |
| Fontenay-le-Comte 14,059 · 5.3 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 3.1% | 7.5% |
| La Châtaigneraie 2,600 · 8.3 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 3.1% | 4.5% |
| Benet 4,089 · 12.8 mi | 46.7 | 25% | 4.7% | 2.2% |
| Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre 5,121 · 15.1 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Hermine 3,611 · 15.8 mi | 42.4 | 22% | 5.2% | 3.1% |
| Magné 2,728 · 17.3 mi | 57.7 | 37% | 4.8% | 3.2% |
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 Mervent
What is the population of Mervent?
1,063 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (1,062).
How old are Mervent’s residents?
The median age is 51.8, older than 88% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mervent?
120, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mervent?
INSEE counts 46 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 41 foreign nationals (3.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mervent?
€24,070 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 October 30, 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.