Vilvoorde has 44,727 inhabitants across 21.6 km². The average age is close to 37, and 67% of residents own their homes. Average net income is €17,514 per year. The most represented nationalities are Belgian (85.3%), Spanish (2.5%), Moroccan (1.9%), Romanian (1.4%), Dutch (1.3%), Italian (1%), French (0.8%) and other nationalities (5.8%). Women make up 51.5% of the population. These figures sit alongside a housing stock in which houses account for 68.2% of dwellings and apartment buildings for 31.8%. Buildings date on average from around 1952, and homes have an average of 5.6 rooms.
The building mix includes 45.1% closed-type houses, 30.8% buildings and flat blocks, 15.5% semi-closed houses, 5.4% open-type houses, farms and castles, 2.8% commercial houses and 0.4% other building types. There are 53 houses for sale in Vilvoorde. The average asking price is €457,381, with listings ranging from €245,000 to €990,000. These are house-sale figures, distinct from the 54 flats also for sale in the municipality. Households own an average of 1.1 cars.
For road access, the R0 Brussels Ring and the A1/E19 towards Brussels, Mechelen, Antwerp and Breda are each 2 minutes by car from the town centre. Local routes include the N1, R22, N202, N211 and N260. Bus services include De Lijn lines 280 between Mechelen and Grimbergen Verbrande Brug, 282 between Mechelen and Zaventem, 683 between Mechelen, Zemst, Vilvoorde and Zaventem, 820 between Jette, Vilvoorde and Zaventem, and 821 between Merchtem, Grimbergen, Vilvoorde and Zaventem. The nearest stations to the centre are Vilvoorde, Buda, Eppegem, Diegem and Haren-Zuid. Brussels Airport is 8 minutes away by car or 26 minutes by public transport.
Families have access to 15 nurseries, 17 nursery schools, 17 primary schools and 16 secondary schools. Named examples include Het Speelboerderijtje and De Bosvriendjes nurseries, Stedelijke Basisschool - De Puzzel and Go! Basisschool Klim-Op Vilvoorde nursery schools, and Go! Technisch Atheneum Horteco Vilvoorde and Virgo Fidelisinstituut Eerste Graad II secondary schools. Shops include 3 Carrefour, 2 Louis Delhaize, 2 Colruyt, 1 Albert Heijn and 1 Lidl. Blue-bike rental is available at 2 stations, Cambio has 5 stations, and the municipality has 5 electric-vehicle charging stations.