Crest sits above 85% of compared French towns for empty homes (11%)
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 28% in Crest and 22% in the typical compared French town. The 2023 Census counted 8,658 residents in 4,280 households. Census figures put one-person households at 45% locally. At 51%, the share of flats is higher than in 76% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Drôme 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.
A +7% change since 2012: faster than 59% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Drôme town +8%.
Only 8.8% of residents are 15 to 24 in Crest
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Crest 46.7. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 46.7, Crest is older than 67% 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
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Crest, 18% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 81% 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 Drôme median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2 people on average. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. 11% of households are single parents, a higher share than in 63% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households without a car than 72% of compared French towns, at 16%
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
Here 3.9% of homes are second homes, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Higher than in 52% of compared French towns: 13% of households rent social housing (HLM). The wider picture: just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €23,400 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.
Living standards centre on €23,400 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 78% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 20.0% of residents.
In Crest, 37% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 73% 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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional tops nearly three fifths of compared French towns: 11%. Typically, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. Across Crest, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.5% of Crest’s residents are immigrants
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 stands at 4.4%. Higher than in 50% of compared French towns: 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.
Married residents make up 35% in Crest, less than in 89% 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
Single residents make up 30%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Crest: 39% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, above 77% 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 make up about one in six here (18%). As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 8,552 to 8,763 people, the 10th 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.
Saint-Jory is the youngest (34.3); Le Grau-du-Roi the oldest (62.3).
Older than Crest: 1 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crest | 46.7 | 28% | 3.9% | 6.5% |
| Aouste-sur-Sye 2,733 · 2 mi | 46 | 24% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Allex 2,698 · 5.7 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 3.4% | 2% |
| Montmeyran 2,960 · 7.6 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 3% |
| Livron-sur-Drôme 9,329 · 9.6 mi | 43.4 | 20% | 1.4% | 4.8% |
| Étoile-sur-Rhône 5,468 · 10 mi | 43 | 20% | 2% | 4.4% |
| Beaumont-lès-Valence 4,337 · 10.1 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 0.9% | 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 Crest
What is the population of Crest?
8,658 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% more than in 2012 (8,095).
How old are Crest’s residents?
The median age is 46.7, older than 67% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Crest?
190, with occasional dwellings: 3.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Crest?
INSEE counts 570 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.5% of residents, and 380 foreign nationals (4.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Crest?
€23,400 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 20.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.