Residents aged 65 and over: 12%, a lower share than 98% of compared French towns
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 2.6% of households have no car in Saint-Marcel. Lower than in 90% of compared French towns: 23% of households are headed by a retired person. The town had 1,340 residents in 540 households at the 2023 census. Here, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone.
Throughout this page, the Ain 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-Marcel
A town of families
35% of households are couples with children and 15% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of Saint-Marcel’s residents are under 38.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 20% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+12% since 2012, a pace 75% of compared French towns didn’t match
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 Ain town +13%.
Saint-Marcel is younger than 86% of compared French towns: a median age of 38.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Marcel 38.5. The median compared French town: 44.
There is little gap on residents aged 15 to 24: 11%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
More couples with children than 93% of compared French towns: 35%
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 Ain median and the France median
Living alone · share
Where 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, Saint-Marcel has 15%. As a yardstick, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
2.5% of homes stand empty, below 97% 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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 27% of homes are flats here. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. The census found that 1.8% of homes are second homes in Saint-Marcel. Households in social housing are more common here than in 54% of compared French towns.
Median standard of living: €29,240 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 Saint-Marcel’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €29,240 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 80% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 16% in Saint-Marcel, more than in 80% 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
In Saint-Marcel, one in ten households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 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).
Immigrants: 5.1%, a lower share than 63% 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.
The median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 63% of compared French towns. The share of foreign nationals stands at 3.3%. Across the comparison, 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-Marcel: 46% of residents 15 and over are married, above 75% 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 single residents is 25%; Saint-Marcel has 23%. For comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 12% of adults out of school have no qualification in Saint-Marcel
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 Saint-Marcel, 35% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 1,340 to 2,582 people, 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as young as Saint-Marcel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Marcel | 38.5 | 12% | 1.8% | 5.1% |
| Saint-André-de-Corcy 3,370 · 2.1 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.2% | 4.2% |
| Villars-les-Dombes 5,163 · 4.3 mi | 42.5 | 24% | 2.8% | 7% |
| Montluel 6,895 · 7 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 1.2% | 14% |
| La Boisse 3,449 · 7.7 mi | 40 | 16% | 1.2% | 5.9% |
| Montanay 3,308 · 7.8 mi | 44.5 | 20% | 0.4% | 4.9% |
| Dagneux 4,778 · 7.8 mi | 39.8 | 16% | 0.8% | 8.5% |
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-Marcel
What is the population of Saint-Marcel?
1,340 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (1,197).
How old are Saint-Marcel’s residents?
The median age is 38.5, younger than 86% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Marcel?
10, with occasional dwellings: 1.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Marcel?
INSEE counts 68 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.1% of residents, and 44 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Marcel?
€29,240 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.