Varennes sits below 99% of compared French towns for households in social housing (0.7%)
39% of households are headed by a manual worker; in the typical compared French town the figure is 14%. The median age in Varennes is 39.4, lower than in 82% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 331 people lived here, in 140 households. For Varennes, the census puts single-parent households at 3.6%.
Throughout this page, the Yonne 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 Varennes
Empty homes
The census found 24 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Varennes grew +12% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 75% 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 first five years brought +9%; the six to 2023, +2%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Yonne town −4%.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 85% of compared French towns, at 17%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Varennes 39.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11%, close to the figure 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
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Yonne 52.2%, France 51.8%.
32% of households are couples with children, a share 84% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Yonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 2.4 people each. One-person households are rarer here than in 65% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children.
Empty homes: 14%, a higher share than 93% 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
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Varennes has 9.5%. For empty homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. 5.1% of households have no car, or about one in 20. Higher than in 78% of compared French towns: 5.4% of homes are second homes.
Median living standard: €26,030 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 residents live in households above €26,030 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 51% of compared French towns.
Below 83% of compared French towns: 25% of households are headed by a retired person
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
Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 7.2% in Varennes. The wider picture: nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 2.2% of residents are immigrants in Varennes
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.
Foreign nationals: 1.6%, below 85% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 90% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Yonne has 9.2%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
20% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 93% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Varennes has 48%. As a yardstick, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Only 19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Varennes
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
Adults with no qualification: 26%, above four fifths of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
41 French towns of 331 to 2,582 people: this is the 2nd youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Varennes is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varennes | 39.4 | 17% | 5.4% | 2.2% |
| Saint-Florentin 4,164 · 7.1 mi | 47.7 | 28% | 3.5% | 18% |
| Tonnerre 4,261 · 9.6 mi | 47.3 | 29% | 3.8% | 14% |
| Brienon-sur-Armançon 3,032 · 9.8 mi | 47 | 25% | 7.3% | 6.1% |
| Monéteau 4,114 · 10.2 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2% | 6.2% |
| Appoigny 3,114 · 12.1 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 2.7% | 6.2% |
| Auxerre 35,097 · 12.4 mi | 44.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 13% |
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 Varennes
What is the population of Varennes?
331 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (296).
How old are Varennes’ residents?
The median age is 39.4, younger than 82% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Varennes?
9, with occasional dwellings: 5.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Varennes?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.2% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Varennes?
€26,030 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.