37% of homes are second homes, more than in 96% of compared French towns
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 6.1% of homes are flats in Saint-Paul-la-Coste. There were 150 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 324 residents. The census found that just over two in five households are headed by a retired person in the town. Lower than in 89% of compared French towns: 16% of households are couples with children.
Throughout this page, the Gard 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-Paul-la-Coste
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Paul-la-Coste, 37% of its 290 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 89% 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-Paul-la-Coste’s residents are under 53.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 34 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Households in social housing: 0.6%, a lower share than 99% 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
Where 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, Saint-Paul-la-Coste has 12%. This Gard town has fewer households without a car than 67% of compared French towns, at 8%. Long tenure is the mark of 27% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 9.9% (under two years).
A +9% change since 2012: Saint-Paul-la-Coste grew faster than 65% 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
In two steps, −4% to 2017 and +14% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +7% in Gard.
Older than 91% of compared French towns: half of Saint-Paul-la-Coste is over 53.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Paul-la-Coste 53.4. The median compared French town: 44.
27% of Saint-Paul-la-Coste’s residents are 65 or older, against 24% in the median Gard town and 22% in the median compared French town; 14% are under 18. On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as 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: Gard 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of single-parent households than 85% of compared French towns: 13%
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 Gard median and the France median
Living alone · share
A third of households are one person living alone (typical compared French town: 35%). The average household has 2.1 people. As a yardstick, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,150 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 €24,150 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a manual worker than 93% of compared French towns: 6.4%
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 make up about one in ten here (9.6%). By way of 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).
5.1% of residents are immigrants, below 62% of compared French towns
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 Gard has 6.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 62% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Foreign nationals account for 3.6%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Above 93% of compared French towns: 51% of residents 15 and over are married
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
The share of single residents is 23%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Saint-Paul-la-Coste ranks above 76% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 39%
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 share of adults with no qualification is 17%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 324 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Nearby, 1 of 6 towns have older populations than Saint-Paul-la-Coste
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Paul-la-Coste | 53.4 | 27% | 37% | 5.1% |
| La Grand-Combe 4,783 · 5.2 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1% | 11% |
| Saint-Martin-de-Valgalgues 4,840 · 5.3 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 0.9% | 9.3% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Gard 2,586 · 5.5 mi | 53.3 | 30% | 14% | 5.6% |
| Alès 46,125 · 5.7 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1.1% | 9.8% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 6.6 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Anduze 3,391 · 6.7 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 15% | 8.1% |
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 Saint-Paul-la-Coste
What is the population of Saint-Paul-la-Coste?
324 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (298).
How old are Saint-Paul-la-Coste’s residents?
The median age is 53.4, older than 91% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Paul-la-Coste?
110, with occasional dwellings: 37% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Paul-la-Coste?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.1% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (3.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Paul-la-Coste?
€24,150 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.