Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns: 5.5%
41% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Saillans had 1,460 residents in 710 households at the 2023 Census. In Saillans, 8% of households are single parents. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 84% 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.
What stands out about the people of Saillans
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 220 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saillans, 21% of its 1,080 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 90% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Many graduates
49% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 18% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Empty homes
The census found 150 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Saillans had 1,248 residents at the 2012 census and 1,460 in 2023, up 17%: faster growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Saillans: 21% of homes are second homes, above 93% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 13% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 13% (under two years). 14% of homes stand empty, more than in 94% of compared French towns. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. The share of flats trails 66% of compared French towns: 21%.
A +17% change since 2012: faster than 86% 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 +8% for the median Drôme town, the change came in two steps: +6% from 2012 to 2017, then +10% to 2023.
Saillans ranks above 72% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 26%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saillans 45.6. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 45.6, Saillans is older than three fifths of compared French towns. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
41% of households are one person living alone, more than in 74% 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
The average household has 2.1 people. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 57% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €23,520 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 midpoint of living standards here is €23,520 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manual worker than 95% of compared French towns: 5.4%
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
Households headed by a manager or professional: 15% here and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 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).
Immigrants make up 5.7% of Saillans’ residents
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 Drôme has 6.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 57% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up about one in 18 here (5.7%). Foreign nationals are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 37% of residents 15 and over are married in Saillans
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%; Saillans has 23%. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
9.7% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 96% 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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, nearly half of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Saillans. For comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 21st 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Saillans is younger than 5 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saillans | 45.6 | 26% | 21% | 5.7% |
| Aouste-sur-Sye 2,733 · 6.9 mi | 46 | 24% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Crest 8,658 · 8.8 mi | 46.7 | 28% | 3.9% | 6.5% |
| Die 4,844 · 9.6 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 11% | 6.7% |
| Dieulefit 3,289 · 13.5 mi | 58 | 39% | 18% | 7.2% |
| Montmeyran 2,960 · 14.3 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 3% |
| Allex 2,698 · 14.5 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 3.4% | 2% |
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 Saillans
What is the population of Saillans?
1,460 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 17% more than in 2012 (1,248).
How old are Saillans’ residents?
The median age is 45.6, older than 60% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saillans?
220, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saillans?
INSEE counts 83 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.7% of residents, and 63 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saillans?
€23,520 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.