Older than 96% of compared French towns: half of Vouvant is over 56.6
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 6.4% in Vouvant. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 94% of compared French towns. This Vendée town counted 829 residents and 360 households at the 2023 Census. On the census count, 2.8% of households are single parents.
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 Vouvant
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vouvant, 19% of its 570 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 78% 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 Vouvant’s residents are under 56.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 15% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 98 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
17% of homes stand empty, more than in 98% 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
5.6% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Second homes account for 19%. In the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes is 6.7%.
Vouvant’s population moved −2% on 2012, less than in 76% 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, +3% to 2017 and −4% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +9% in Vendée.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns: 5.6%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Vouvant 56.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Vouvant has 35%. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
24% of households are couples with children, below 58% of compared French towns
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 2.1 people on average. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%. Just over a third of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 55% of compared French towns.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,800 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.
Half of Vouvant’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,800 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
Vouvant ranks below 91% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 4.2%
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
37% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. Higher than in 76% of compared French towns: 18% of households are headed by a manual worker. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More foreign nationals than 63% of compared French towns: 5.8%
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 just over half of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals. About one in 16: that is how common immigrants are in Vouvant (6.3%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 15%
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
Against a figure of 43% in the typical compared French town, the share of married residents in Vouvant comes in at 54%. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 78% 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
23% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 5th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Vouvant is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vouvant | 56.6 | 35% | 19% | 6.3% |
| La Châtaigneraie 2,600 · 5.4 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 3.1% | 4.5% |
| Fontenay-le-Comte 14,059 · 7.6 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 3.1% | 7.5% |
| Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre 5,121 · 13.4 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Hermine 3,611 · 14.4 mi | 42.4 | 22% | 5.2% | 3.1% |
| Pouzauges 5,668 · 14.7 mi | 46.3 | 23% | 3.3% | 3.9% |
| Chantonnay 8,557 · 15.2 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 3.5% | 3.3% |
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 Vouvant
What is the population of Vouvant?
829 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (842).
How old are Vouvant’s residents?
The median age is 56.6, older than 96% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vouvant?
110, with occasional dwellings: 19% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vouvant?
INSEE counts 53 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.3% of residents, and 48 foreign nationals (5.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vouvant?
€24,800 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.