A smaller share of flats than 99% of compared French towns: 0.9%
Where 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, Saint-Désiré has 2.6%. Few places have so few households headed by a manual worker: 10% here, fewer than in 75% of compared French towns. The town had 424 residents in 200 households at the 2023 census. For Saint-Désiré, the census puts single-parent households at 7.7%.
Throughout this page, the Allier 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-Désiré
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 49 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Désiré, 15% of its 330 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 82 homes empty (25%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Saint-Désiré’s residents are under 51.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-Désiré had 445 residents at the 2012 census and 424 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 25%
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
Second homes make up 15%, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. About one in 11: that is how common households without a car are in Saint-Désiré (8.8%).
−5% since 2012: slower than 87% 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 ±0%; the six to 2023, −5%.
Saint-Désiré is older than 87% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Désiré 51.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Saint-Désiré comes in at 9.5%. 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 75% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Saint-Désiré sits below 61% of compared French towns for couples with children (23%)
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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.2 people share a household. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, against 36% in Saint-Désiré.
Standard of living at the median: €22,490 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,490 a year: lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 79% of compared French towns: 39%
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
Across Saint-Désiré, 10% of households are headed by a manager or professional. Measured more widely, 32% 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 59% of compared French towns: 5.5%
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.
In Saint-Désiré, 5% of residents are foreign nationals. To put it in context, 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.
In Saint-Désiré, 23% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 66% 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
The share of married residents stands at 44%. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 79% of compared French towns: 14%
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Saint-Désiré. Against that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
11th highest median age among 41 French towns of 424 to 2,582
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.
Nearby, 4 of 6 towns have older populations than Saint-Désiré
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Désiré | 51.3 | 27% | 15% | 5.5% |
| Huriel 2,536 · 9.3 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 4% | 2.5% |
| Domérat 8,622 · 11.1 mi | 53.5 | 33% | 1.6% | 4.4% |
| Désertines 4,259 · 13.4 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 1.5% | 5% |
| Montluçon 33,147 · 13.6 mi | 46.9 | 28% | 3.1% | 11% |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 13.7 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 2.3% | 5.9% |
| Saint-Amand-Montrond 9,899 · 16 mi | 54.5 | 35% | 3.9% | 4.5% |
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-Désiré
What is the population of Saint-Désiré?
424 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (445).
How old are Saint-Désiré’s residents?
The median age is 51.3, older than 87% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Désiré?
49, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Désiré?
INSEE counts 23 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.5% of residents, and 21 foreign nationals (5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Désiré?
€22,490 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 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.