Saint-Valérien ranks above 99% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 29%
Half of Saint-Valérien’s residents are over 47.5, older than in 72% of compared French towns. Put another way, about one in 23: 4.4% of households rent social housing (HLM). At the 2023 Census, 557 people lived here, in 250 households. The share of empty homes trails just over four fifths of compared French towns: 4.5%.
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 Saint-Valérien
One home in 10 is a second home
The census counted 30 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Valérien, 10% of its 290 homes: higher than in 88% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes make up 10% in Saint-Valérien, more than in 88% 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
7.2% of households arrived within the last two years, while 22% have stayed 30 years or more. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Where just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town, Saint-Valérien has 5.6%.
Saint-Valérien grew +10% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 70% 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
In two steps, +4% to 2017 and +6% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +9% in Vendée.
In Saint-Valérien, 25% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 70% 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
■ Saint-Valérien 47.5. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (12%), Saint-Valérien is above 70% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
Below 73% of compared French towns: 31% of households are one person living alone
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
In the typical compared French town, one in ten households are single parents; in Saint-Valérien, 8.2%. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. 24% of households are couples with children.
€24,070 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.
Half of Saint-Valérien’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,070 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
Saint-Valérien sits below 92% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (4.1%)
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
Households headed by a retired person: 29% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 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).
4.5% of residents are immigrants, below 68% 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.
Census figures put foreign nationals at 3.8% in Saint-Valérien. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Saint-Valérien sits below 91% of compared French towns for single residents (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
The share of married residents tops 89% of compared French towns: 49%. For comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Below 72% of compared French towns: 24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education 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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Saint-Valérien comes in at 21%. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 557 to 2,582 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Saint-Valérien
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Valérien | 47.5 | 25% | 10% | 4.5% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Hermine 3,611 · 6.1 mi | 42.4 | 22% | 5.2% | 3.1% |
| Fontenay-le-Comte 14,059 · 8.1 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 3.1% | 7.5% |
| Chantonnay 8,557 · 11.5 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 3.5% | 3.3% |
| Luçon 9,417 · 11.7 mi | 56.2 | 36% | 4.2% | 3% |
| Bournezeau 3,452 · 12.4 mi | 39.8 | 19% | 4.7% | 1.7% |
| La Châtaigneraie 2,600 · 12.7 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 3.1% | 4.5% |
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 Saint-Valérien
What is the population of Saint-Valérien?
557 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% more than in 2012 (506).
How old are Saint-Valérien’s residents?
The median age is 47.5, older than 72% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Valérien?
30, with occasional dwellings: 10% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Valérien?
INSEE counts 25 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 21 foreign nationals (3.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Valérien?
€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 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.