Photo: Enrevseluj · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of empty homes than 97% of compared French towns: 16%
With a median age of 49, Sainte-Rose is older than 79% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 17,700 residents in 8,210 households. 29% of households have no car. Set against 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 8% of homes are second homes in the town.
Throughout this page, the Guadeloupe 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 Sainte-Rose
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sainte-Rose had 20,379 residents at the 2012 census and 17,700 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 1,770 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Sainte-Rose’s population moved −13% on 2012, less than in 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, ±0% in Guadeloupe. Here the change came as −6% to 2017, then −8% to 2023.
10% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 60% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sainte-Rose 49. The median compared French town: 44.
In Sainte-Rose, 23% of residents are 65 or over. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: France 51.8%.
20% of households are single parents, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Guadeloupe median and the France median
Living alone · share
25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, against 20% in Sainte-Rose. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. One-person households: nearly two fifths of the total.
Flats make up 11% in Sainte-Rose, less than in 86% 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
Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 6.3% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. In the typical compared French town, flats come to 30%.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 85% of compared French towns: 5.1%
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in seven. Households headed by a retired person: 33% here and 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More foreign nationals than 67% of compared French towns: 6.6%
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.
Immigrants make up about one in 17 here (6%). That is lower than in 55% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
43% of residents 15 and over are single, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
34% of residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
37% of adults out of school have no qualification, more 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%; Sainte-Rose has 20%. Across the comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 5th 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 L'Isle-d'Abeau (33.3), the oldest Montceau-les-Mines (50.2).
Sainte-Rose sits below 3 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Rose | 49 | 23% | 8% | 6% |
| Lamentin 18,628 · 6.1 mi | 40.1 | 16% | 1.4% | 4.6% |
| Deshaies 3,710 · 6.6 mi | 54.7 | 29% | 41% | 2.7% |
| Baie-Mahault 30,924 · 8.7 mi | 40.8 | 16% | 1.4% | 4.8% |
| Pointe-Noire 5,762 · 9.2 mi | 55.7 | 31% | 20% | 0.9% |
| Petit-Bourg 24,665 · 12.1 mi | 44.3 | 19% | 6.7% | 3.5% |
| Port-Louis 5,607 · 12.4 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 18% | 2.8% |
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 Sainte-Rose
What is the population of Sainte-Rose?
17,700 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (20,379).
How old are Sainte-Rose’s residents?
The median age is 49, older than 79% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sainte-Rose?
870, with occasional dwellings: 8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sainte-Rose?
INSEE counts 1,060 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6% of residents, and 1,180 foreign nationals (6.6%). 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 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.