Saint-Mélany is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 57.3
In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children; in Saint-Mélany, 15%. There were 60 households here at the 2023 Census, home to 118 residents. Across Saint-Mélany, 54% of households are headed by a retired person. Empty homes are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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-Mélany
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Mélany, 65% of its 170 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 82% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Saint-Mélany’s residents are under 57.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many graduates
52% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 24% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Saint-Mélany: 65% of homes are second homes, above 99% 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
Households without a car make up 6.1%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Lower than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 14% of homes are flats. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Newcomers of less than two years account for 12% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 29%.
From 2012 to 2023, 80% of compared French towns grew faster than Saint-Mélany: −2%
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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Ardèche town +4%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −8%; 2017 to 2023, +6%.
Saint-Mélany ranks below 99% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 3.8%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Mélany 57.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 28%, above nearly four fifths of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
15% of households are single parents, more than in 96% of compared French towns
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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2 people. At 38%, the share of one-person households is higher than in 64% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of households headed by a manual worker than 88% of compared French towns: 7.7%
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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Saint-Mélany comes in at 15%. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 67% of compared French towns, at 4.6%
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.
3.1% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Saint-Mélany ranks below 64% of compared French towns on single residents: 24%
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
Census figures put married residents at 44% in Saint-Mélany. For comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 99% of compared French towns: 4.7%
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-Mélany, 52% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 5th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Median age: 2 of the 5 towns around Saint-Mélany are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Mélany | 57.3 | 28% | 65% | 4.6% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 9.2 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 13.3 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Aubenas 12,416 · 14.2 mi | 47.9 | 29% | 5.3% | 12% |
| Vals-les-Bains 3,474 · 14.7 mi | 56.1 | 36% | 24% | 5.2% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 17 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
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-Mélany
What is the population of Saint-Mélany?
118 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (121).
How old are Saint-Mélany’s residents?
The median age is 57.3, older than 97% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Mélany?
110, with occasional dwellings: 65% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Mélany?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.6% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (3.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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 9, 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.