Photo: René Hourdry · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of households without a car than 97% of compared French towns: 32%
Flats make up 50%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. About one in six: that is how common couples with children are in Saint-Quentin (17%). On residents aged 15 to 24, Saint-Quentin sits higher than 93% of compared French towns: 14%. There were 26,160 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 52,813 residents.
Throughout this page, the Aisne 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-Quentin
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-Quentin had 56,217 residents at the 2012 census and 52,813 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
48% of Saint-Quentin’s households are one person: higher than in 91% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 4,110 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Saint-Quentin’s population moved −6% on 2012, less than in 91% 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 −2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −4% in Aisne.
Younger than 71% of compared French towns: half of Saint-Quentin is under 41.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Quentin 41.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In Saint-Quentin, 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 91% of compared French towns: 48%
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 Aisne median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2 people. Here, just over one in ten households are single parents. One-person households make up 35% in the typical compared French town.
Above 92% of compared French towns: 13% of homes stand empty
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
17% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 15% moved in within the last two years. Few places have as many households in social housing: 25% here, more than in 86% of compared French towns. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. Nothing unusual on second homes: 1.6%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
€20,470 a year is the median standard of living here
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.
At €20,470 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 30.1% of residents.
17% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 67% 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
7.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manual worker come to 14%. The census found that 33% of households are headed by a retired person in Saint-Quentin.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Saint-Quentin: 7.8% of residents are foreign nationals, above 73% 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.
Immigrants make up 9%, against 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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-Quentin ranks below 96% of compared French towns on married residents: 32%
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
Where 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, Saint-Quentin has 34%. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Saint-Quentin: 31% of adults out of school have no qualification, above 93% 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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. Elsewhere, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 48,193 to 58,029 people: this is the 13th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Vaulx-en-Velin is the youngest (32.5); Les Sables-d'Olonne the oldest (59.6).
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Saint-Quentin
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Quentin | 41.3 | 23% | 1.6% | 9% |
| Gauchy 5,183 · 1.7 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 0.4% | 4% |
| Fresnoy-le-Grand 2,890 · 9 mi | 44.1 | 23% | 1.2% | 2.7% |
| Ham 4,378 · 11.7 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 1% | 2.8% |
| Bohain-en-Vermandois 5,605 · 12 mi | 41.1 | 21% | 0.8% | 4.9% |
| Tergnier 13,045 · 13.1 mi | 42.5 | 21% | 1% | 6.7% |
| Beautor 2,579 · 13.3 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 0.4% | 5.4% |
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-Quentin
What is the population of Saint-Quentin?
52,813 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (56,217).
How old are Saint-Quentin’s residents?
The median age is 41.3, younger than 71% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Quentin?
490, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Quentin?
INSEE counts 4,750 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9% of residents, and 4,110 foreign nationals (7.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Quentin?
€20,470 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 30.1% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 8, 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.