21% of homes are second homes, more than in 93% of compared French towns
The share of single-parent households is 3.1%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. In 2023, the Census found 1,039 residents in Saint-Cernin, living in 490 households. Locally, just over two in five households are headed by a retired person. 3.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), a lower share than in 92% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Cantal 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-Cernin
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 150 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Cernin, 21% of its 720 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 94% 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-Cernin had 1,106 residents at the 2012 census and 1,039 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 80% of compared French towns: 10% 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for 7.9% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 29%. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. On flats, Saint-Cernin sits lower than 77% of compared French towns: 15%. Car-free households: one in eight, where the median compared French town has 11%.
A change of −6% since 2012 leaves Saint-Cernin behind 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −3% for the median Cantal town, the change came in two steps: −3% from 2012 to 2017, then −3% to 2023.
A median age of 49: Saint-Cernin is older than 79% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Cernin 49. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 26%, above 71% of compared French towns. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 8.7%, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 67% of compared French towns, at 39%
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 Cantal median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2 people on average. Saint-Cernin has fewer couples with children than 57% of compared French towns, at 24%. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €23,530 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.
At €23,530 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 75% of compared French towns, at 6.1%
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 11% in Saint-Cernin. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 0.6%
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.
The median compared commune in Cantal has 3.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns. For Saint-Cernin, the census puts foreign nationals at 0.3%. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Saint-Cernin ranks above 71% of compared French towns on married residents: 46%
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 figure for single residents is 27% in Saint-Cernin and 25% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 86% of compared French towns: 20%
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
By its share of adults with no qualification (25%), Saint-Cernin is above nearly four fifths of compared French towns. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
15th highest median age among 41 French towns of 1,039 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.
Among its 4 nearest neighbors, 2 are older than Saint-Cernin
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Cernin | 49 | 26% | 21% | 0.6% |
| Aurillac 26,214 · 9.2 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 4.6% | 6.7% |
| Ytrac 4,339 · 10.2 mi | 48.3 | 25% | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| Arpajon-sur-Cère 6,361 · 11.1 mi | 49.8 | 26% | 4.4% | 2% |
| Mauriac 3,449 · 12.3 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.1% | 3.1% |
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-Cernin
What is the population of Saint-Cernin?
1,039 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (1,106).
How old are Saint-Cernin’s residents?
The median age is 49, older than 79% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Cernin?
150, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Cernin?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.6% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (0.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Cernin?
€23,530 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.