Saint-Léon is older than 94% of compared French towns: a median age of 55.1
In Saint-Léon, 5.8% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than in 99% of compared French towns: 1.9%. The town counted 530 residents and 260 households at the 2023 Census. Flats: 2.6% of the total.
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-Léon
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 52 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Léon, 14% of its 380 homes: higher than in 90% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-Léon had 614 residents at the 2012 census and 530 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Saint-Léon’s residents are under 55.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 65 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Saint-Léon, 17% of homes stand empty, more than in 98% 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
In the median compared French town, 11% of households have no car; here, one in 15. Second homes are more common here than in 90% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Locally, 1.9% of households rent social housing (HLM).
Saint-Léon’s population moved −14% on 2012, less than in 99% 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 median Allier town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −11% and the next six −3%.
Saint-Léon ranks above 93% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 34%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Léon 55.1. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24; in Saint-Léon, 8.1%. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Only 21% of households are couples with children in Saint-Léon
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
The average household has 2 people. Elsewhere, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Just over a third of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 53% of compared French towns.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €22,290 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €22,290 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 87% of compared French towns.
In Saint-Léon, 40% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 85% 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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 19% in Saint-Léon. The usual figure: 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).
2.1% of residents are immigrants, below 91% 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.
In Saint-Léon, 1.7% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 91% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% 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.
Above 96% of compared French towns: 52% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Single residents: 19%, below 95% of compared French towns. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 91% of compared French towns: 18%
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
The figure for adults with no qualification is 29% in Saint-Léon and 19% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 6th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
A younger town than 1 of the 5 around it: Saint-Léon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Léon | 55.1 | 34% | 14% | 2.1% |
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre 2,959 · 8.2 mi | 54.3 | 34% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Lapalisse 3,138 · 10.7 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 3% | 4.5% |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 14.9 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 0.9% | 9.6% |
| Bourbon-Lancy 4,674 · 15.7 mi | 57.2 | 39% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Digoin 7,353 · 15.8 mi | 53.9 | 34% | 1.9% | 15% |
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-Léon
What is the population of Saint-Léon?
530 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (614).
How old are Saint-Léon’s residents?
The median age is 55.1, older than 94% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Léon?
52, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Léon?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (1.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Léon?
€22,290 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.