Saugues is older than 95% of compared French towns: a median age of 56.2
Where 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, Saugues has 1.3%. This Haute-Loire town had 1,652 residents in 820 households at the 2023 census. Census figures put households in social housing at 2.3% in the town. Few places have so few couples with children: 17% here, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Loire 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 Saugues
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 270 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saugues, 20% of its 1,380 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 93% 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 Saugues’ residents are under 56.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saugues had 1,822 residents at the 2012 census and 1,652 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 290 homes empty (21%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Saugues ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 21%
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
With second homes at 20%, Saugues is ahead of 93% of compared French towns on that count. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in eight: 13% of homes are flats.
−9% since 2012: slower than 96% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −5%, and from 2017 to 2023 −5%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Haute-Loire town +2%.
Saugues: 35% of residents are 65 or over, above 93% 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
■ Saugues 56.2. The median compared French town: 44.
8.1% of residents are 15 to 24, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
6.2% of households are single parents, fewer than in 95% 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 Haute-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, 41% of households are one person living alone in Saugues. The average household has 1.9 people. By way of comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
€24,060 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,060 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
In Saugues, 48% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 96% 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
Here, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. 1.3% of Saugues’ households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 48% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 94% of compared French towns: 1.8%
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: 1% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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 40% in Saugues, less than in 71% 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
23% of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 88% of compared French towns: 19%
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
21% of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 1,652 to 2,582 people, the 5th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Saugues
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saugues | 56.2 | 35% | 20% | 1.8% |
| Langeac 3,499 · 10 mi | 56.6 | 38% | 12% | 6.1% |
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel 3,585 · 16.8 mi | 47 | 25% | 2.4% | 6.5% |
| Saint-Chély-d'Apcher 3,955 · 16.9 mi | 47.6 | 27% | 9.6% | 5.6% |
| Vals-près-le-Puy 3,395 · 16.9 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 7.7% |
| Polignac 2,819 · 17.4 mi | 48.5 | 26% | 6.3% | 1.8% |
| Le Puy-en-Velay 18,540 · 17.7 mi | 44.6 | 26% | 5.9% | 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 Saugues
What is the population of Saugues?
1,652 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (1,822).
How old are Saugues’ residents?
The median age is 56.2, older than 95% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saugues?
270, with occasional dwellings: 20% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saugues?
INSEE counts 30 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.8% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saugues?
€24,060 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.