A larger share of second homes than 96% of compared French towns: 37%
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 98 residents in 52 households. The census found that 3.5% of homes are flats in Sainte-Marie. By its share of couples with children (20%), Sainte-Marie is below 74% 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 Sainte-Marie
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 44 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sainte-Marie, 37% of its 120 homes: higher than in 96% 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
Sainte-Marie had 110 residents at the 2012 census and 98 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 23 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Sainte-Marie’s residents are under 52.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Empty homes make up 19% in Sainte-Marie, more than in 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
Car-free households: one in 10, where the median compared French town has 11%. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Turnover: 6.1% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 35% have lived in their home 30 years or more.
Slower than most: −11% since 2012, behind 98% 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
Here the change came as −2% to 2017, then −9% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −3% in Cantal.
Sainte-Marie is older than 90% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sainte-Marie 52.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over; in the typical compared French town the figure is 22%.
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 69% of compared French towns, at 40%
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
The average household has 1.9 people. Elsewhere, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Above 83% of compared French towns: 40% of households are headed by a retired person
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
The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 10% in Sainte-Marie and 14% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for households headed by a retired person is 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 3.2% in Sainte-Marie, less than in 80% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Sainte-Marie comes in at 3.2%. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer single residents than 79% of compared French towns: 22%
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 married residents is 38% in Sainte-Marie and 43% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 85% 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
In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Sainte-Marie, 17%. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
8th highest median age among 41 French towns of 98 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.
Sainte-Marie and the towns around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Marie | 52.8 | 24% | 37% | 3.2% |
| Saint-Flour 6,391 · 13.7 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 5.3% | 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 Sainte-Marie
What is the population of Sainte-Marie?
98 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (110).
How old are Sainte-Marie’s residents?
The median age is 52.8, older than 90% of compared French towns. 8.6% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sainte-Marie?
44, with occasional dwellings: 37% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sainte-Marie?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (3.2%). 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.