Older than 99% of compared French towns: half of Saint-May is over 64.5
In the typical compared French town, the share of flats is 30%; Saint-May has 3.8%. The town’s 20 households held 32 residents at the 2023 Census. Put another way, about one in eight: 12% of homes stand empty. Households headed by a manager or professional are more common here than in 88% 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 Saint-May
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 25 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-May, 49% of its 51 homes: higher than in 97% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Saint-May’s residents are under 64.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 48% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 15% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-May had 42 residents at the 2012 census and 32 in 2023, down 24%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
60% of Saint-May’s households are one person: higher than in 99% of compared French towns; 31% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of second homes than 97% of compared French towns: 49%
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
Of all households, 9.5% moved in during the last two years and 38% have stayed three decades or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Slower than most: −24% since 2012, behind 99% 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
The median Drôme town changed +8% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −7% and the next six −18%.
Saint-May ranks above 99% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 48%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-May 64.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Saint-May ranks above 99% of compared French towns on one-person households: 60%
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
Households here average 1.6 people each. On average, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
40% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 83% 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
Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 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).
0% of Saint-May’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 median compared commune in Drôme has 6.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 Saint-May
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
Census figures put single residents at 25% in Saint-May. In the median compared French town 43% are married and 6.1% in a PACS; here it is 37% and 6.2%, and 13% are widowed.
Saint-May ranks above 99% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 37%
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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Saint-May comes in at 19%.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 32 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Saint-May the oldest (64.5).
No nearby town is as old as Saint-May
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-May | 64.5 | 48% | 49% | 0% |
| Nyons 6,816 · 10.2 mi | 60.6 | 43% | 17% | 9.9% |
| Dieulefit 3,289 · 14.3 mi | 58 | 39% | 18% | 7.2% |
| Valréas 9,224 · 16.5 mi | 49.4 | 30% | 4.6% | 14% |
| Vaison-la-Romaine 6,058 · 17.5 mi | 56.6 | 38% | 15% | 12% |
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-May
What is the population of Saint-May?
32 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 24% fewer than in 2012 (42).
How old are Saint-May’s residents?
The median age is 64.5, older than 99% of compared French towns. 3% are under 18 and 48% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-May?
25, with occasional dwellings: 49% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-May?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). 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 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.