Only 1.3% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Saint-Marcel
Flats make up 4.3%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Meanwhile, on households headed by a retired person, Saint-Marcel sits higher than 93% of compared French towns: 45%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 1,514, in 770 households. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 7.8%.
Throughout this page, the Indre 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-Marcel
An older town
Half of Saint-Marcel’s residents are under 52.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 170 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.
A change of −4% since 2012 leaves Saint-Marcel behind 84% 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
The median Indre town changed −5% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +1% and the next six −4%.
A median age of 52.1: Saint-Marcel is older than 89% 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
■ Saint-Marcel 52.1. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 33%, Saint-Marcel is ahead of 92% of compared French towns on that count.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Indre 53.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
19% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 78% 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 Indre median and the France median
Living alone · share
At 9.2%, the share of single-parent households is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town. One-person households: 40% of the total. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children.
Empty homes make up 16% in Saint-Marcel, more than in 97% 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
In the last two years, nearly one in ten households moved in; at the other end, 32% have stayed 30 years or more. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 9.8%, more than in 88% of compared French towns. Add to that, the figure for households without a car is 15% in Saint-Marcel and 11% in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €23,470 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.
At €23,470 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 77% of compared French towns: 5.9%
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 manual worker: 16%, above 62% of compared French towns. For households headed by a manager or professional, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 1.7% of residents are immigrants in Saint-Marcel
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 a share lower than in 95% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Indre has 4.6%. The census found that 1% of residents are foreign nationals in Saint-Marcel. 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.
A smaller share of single residents than 92% of compared French towns: 20%
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 married residents tops 72% of compared French towns: 46%. As a yardstick, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Below 92% of compared French towns: 18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
Adults with no qualification: 30%, above 92% of compared French towns.
Ranked by age, 9th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Median age: 1 of the 6 towns around Saint-Marcel are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Marcel | 52.1 | 33% | 9.8% | 1.7% |
| Argenton-sur-Creuse 4,786 · 1.1 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
| Le Poinçonnet 5,855 · 15.1 mi | 53.2 | 30% | 1.9% | 4.4% |
| Saint-Maur 3,537 · 15.8 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 2.2% | 3.3% |
| Châteauroux 42,963 · 16.7 mi | 45.2 | 26% | 2.7% | 12% |
| Villedieu-sur-Indre 2,583 · 17 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 3.2% | 2.5% |
| Ardentes 3,715 · 17.6 mi | 48.9 | 25% | 4% | 2.4% |
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-Marcel
What is the population of Saint-Marcel?
1,514 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (1,572).
How old are Saint-Marcel’s residents?
The median age is 52.1, older than 89% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Marcel?
100, with occasional dwellings: 9.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Marcel?
INSEE counts 25 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 15 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Marcel?
€23,470 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.