Saint-Thonan ranks above 99% of compared French towns on couples with children: 47%
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 1.4% of households have no car in Saint-Thonan. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 1,956, in 710 households. 2.4% of homes are flats, or about one in 42. Few places have so few empty homes: 2.9% here, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Finistère 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-Thonan
A town of families
47% of households are couples with children and 4.2% single parents with children; 26% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Saint-Thonan had 1,485 residents at the 2012 census and 1,956 in 2023, up 32%: faster growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A young town
Half of Saint-Thonan’s residents are under 37 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 26% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+32% since 2012, a pace 97% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +23%, then +7% to 2023. Over those years, the median Finistère town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%.
Only 12% of residents are 65 or over in Saint-Thonan
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Thonan 37. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.2% in Saint-Thonan and 11% in the typical compared French town. The median age in the town is 37, lower than in 91% of compared French towns. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Finistère 51.7%, France 51.8%.
Saint-Thonan sits below 99% of compared French towns for one-person households (18%)
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 Finistère median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.8 people in the average household. Few places have so few single-parent households: 4.2% here, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Households in social housing make up 5.2% in Saint-Thonan, less than in 85% 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
The share of second homes is 0.4%, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM). Long tenure is the mark of 21% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 8.4% (under two years).
€29,050 a year: the median standard of living
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.
At €29,050 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 79% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 16% in Saint-Thonan, more than in 80% 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
28% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). By way of comparison, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 14% 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).
Fewer immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 0.9%
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.
Foreign nationals: 0.4% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
18% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 98% 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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, 51% of residents 15 and over are married in Saint-Thonan. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Adults with no qualification make up 5.2% in Saint-Thonan, less than in 99% 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
45% of Saint-Thonan’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 5.2% have no diploma (19%).
The youngest of 41 French towns of 1,956 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.
The youngest is Saint-Thonan (37), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as young as Saint-Thonan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Thonan | 37 | 12% | 0.4% | 0.9% |
| Ploudaniel 3,732 · 3.8 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 2.2% | 1.6% |
| Landerneau 16,363 · 3.9 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| Plouédern 3,103 · 3.9 mi | 40 | 18% | 1.6% | 1.7% |
| Plabennec 8,686 · 4.4 mi | 41.6 | 19% | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| Guipavas 15,538 · 5 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 0.9% | 3.3% |
| Le Relecq-Kerhuon 11,897 · 6 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 2.4% | 2.7% |
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 Saint-Thonan
What is the population of Saint-Thonan?
1,956 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 32% more than in 2012 (1,485).
How old are Saint-Thonan’s residents?
The median age is 37, younger than 91% of compared French towns. 30% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Thonan?
3, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Thonan?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.9% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (0.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Thonan?
€29,050 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 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.