A larger share of second homes than 95% of compared French towns: 27%
One in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town, against 15% in Saou. This Drôme town had 590 residents in 280 households at the 2023 census. Locally, 4% of households have no car. Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 90% 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 Saou
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saou, 27% of its 410 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 77% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Households in social housing make up 5.8% in Saou, less than in 83% 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
7.2% of households arrived within the last two years, while 12% have stayed 30 years or more. Lower than in 77% of compared French towns: 15% of homes are flats. Empty homes make up 5.1%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
A +13% change since 2012: faster than 78% 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: +10% from 2012 to 2017, then +3% to 2023.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 98% of compared French towns, at 6.6%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saou 48.4. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 48.4, Saou is older than 76% of compared French towns. Residents aged 65 and over account for 24%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
In Saou, 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
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 33% of households are one person living alone here. On average, 2.1 people share a household. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%.
A median of €23,090 a year per consumption unit
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 €23,090 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 81% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 61% of compared French towns: 35%
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
Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 9.1% in Saou. Households headed by a retired person make up 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 6.9% of Saou’s 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.
That is higher than in 53% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Drôme has 6.5%. Put another way, about one in 14: 6.9% of residents are immigrants. At 4.6%, foreign nationals sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
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 47% in Saou, more than in 79% 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
Compared with other places, single residents are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 58% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Saou, 9% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 97% 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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 49% in Saou and 30% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification.
41 French towns of 590 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Saou is younger than 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saou | 48.4 | 24% | 27% | 6.9% |
| Aouste-sur-Sye 2,733 · 5 mi | 46 | 24% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Crest 8,658 · 6.3 mi | 46.7 | 28% | 3.9% | 6.5% |
| Dieulefit 3,289 · 8.2 mi | 58 | 39% | 18% | 7.2% |
| Allex 2,698 · 11.1 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 3.4% | 2% |
| Montmeyran 2,960 · 13.9 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 3% |
| Montboucher-sur-Jabron 2,592 · 14.2 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
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 Saou
What is the population of Saou?
590 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% more than in 2012 (520).
How old are Saou’s residents?
The median age is 48.4, older than 76% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saou?
110, with occasional dwellings: 27% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saou?
INSEE counts 41 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.9% of residents, and 27 foreign nationals (4.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saou?
€23,090 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.