Second homes: 48%, a higher share than 97% of compared French towns
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 241 residents and 120 households in Sampzon. Across Sampzon, 3.1% of households have no car. 16% of homes are flats, against 30% in the typical compared French town.
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 Sampzon
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sampzon, 48% of its 250 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 85% 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 Sampzon’s residents are under 52 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Sampzon, 2.1% of homes stand empty, fewer 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for 4.7% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 21%. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. At 12%, the share of households in social housing is lower than in just over half of compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Sampzon outgrew 67% of compared French towns: +9%
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +4% for the median Ardèche town, the change came in two steps: +3% from 2012 to 2017, then +6% to 2023.
Sampzon is older than 89% of compared French towns: a median age of 52
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sampzon 52. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 85% of compared French towns: 30%. Locally, nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Sampzon sits below 69% of compared French towns for couples with children (21%)
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
There are 2 people in the average household. In the typical compared French town, 25% of households are couples with children. Nearly one in ten households are single parents, a lower share than in 77% of compared French towns. Still, the share of one-person households is 38%, against 35% in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,480 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 median standard of living in Sampzon is €22,480 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
In Sampzon, 24% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 87% 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 Sampzon, 8.4% of households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. 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 higher share of immigrants than 78% of compared French towns, at 12%
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 share of foreign nationals is 9.9%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. 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.
Married residents: 48%, a higher share than 84% 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
On the census count, just over a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education make up 19% in Sampzon, less than in 89% 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
Adults with no qualification: 14% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (241 to 2,582 people), the 9th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Around Sampzon, 2 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sampzon | 52 | 30% | 48% | 12% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 10.5 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 12 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Villeneuve-de-Berg 3,031 · 12.1 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 8% | 5.1% |
| Aubenas 12,416 · 13.5 mi | 47.9 | 29% | 5.3% | 12% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 13.7 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| Bourg-Saint-Andéol 7,661 · 15.1 mi | 44.2 | 25% | 3.9% | 14% |
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 Sampzon
What is the population of Sampzon?
241 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (221).
How old are Sampzon’s residents?
The median age is 52, older than 89% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sampzon?
120, with occasional dwellings: 48% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sampzon?
INSEE counts 29 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 12% of residents, and 24 foreign nationals (9.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sampzon?
€22,480 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.