Saint-Marcellin: 49% of households are one person living alone, above 92% of compared French towns
The share of flats is 66%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Saint-Marcellin had 7,700 residents in 4,040 households at the 2023 Census. The census found that 29% of residents are 65 or over here. More households without a car than in 74% of compared French towns: 16%.
Throughout this page, the Isère 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-Marcellin
Many people living alone
49% of Saint-Marcellin’s households are one person: higher than in 92% of compared French towns; 39% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-Marcellin had 8,075 residents at the 2012 census and 7,700 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 580 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.
Saint-Marcellin changed by −5% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 87% 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 −2%, and from 2017 to 2023 −3%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Isère town +7%.
A median age of 50.5: Saint-Marcellin is older than 85% 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-Marcellin 50.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Roughly one in ten: just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children: 16%, a lower share than 87% 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 Isère median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 1.9 people. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. On single-parent households, 9.6% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
12% of homes stand empty, a share 90% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
One household in six has no car (median compared French town: 11%). As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing: 15% of the total.
A typical living standard of €23,410 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.
Half of residents live in households above €23,410 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 78% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 21.0% of residents.
Saint-Marcellin sits above 80% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (39%)
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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 17% of households are headed by a manual worker in Saint-Marcellin. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 7.2% in the town. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Saint-Marcellin ranks above 76% of compared French towns on immigrants: 11%
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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Saint-Marcellin has 7.3%. On average, 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 married residents than 88% of compared French towns: 36%
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 25% in the typical compared French town, 29% of residents 15 and over are single in Saint-Marcellin. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Adults with no qualification make up 24% in Saint-Marcellin, more than in 73% 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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Saint-Marcellin has 28%. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
Among 41 French towns of 7,587 to 7,812 people, the 4th 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.
Chessy is the youngest (33); Mimizan the oldest (56.3).
Around Saint-Marcellin, 3 of 6 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Marcellin | 50.5 | 29% | 2% | 11% |
| Chatte 2,518 · 1.9 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 2.3% | 3.9% |
| Vinay 4,438 · 6 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 2.1% | 6.7% |
| Saint-Jean-en-Royans 2,874 · 9.3 mi | 50.9 | 30% | 6.5% | 6% |
| Autrans-Méaudre en Vercors 2,936 · 10.4 mi | 46.7 | 25% | 53% | 2.6% |
| Saint-Siméon-de-Bressieux 3,186 · 12.7 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 2.6% | 8.6% |
| Villard-de-Lans 4,328 · 12.7 mi | 51 | 28% | 64% | 3.7% |
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-Marcellin
What is the population of Saint-Marcellin?
7,700 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (8,075).
How old are Saint-Marcellin’s residents?
The median age is 50.5, older than 85% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Marcellin?
96, with occasional dwellings: 2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Marcellin?
INSEE counts 880 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 560 foreign nationals (7.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Marcellin?
€23,410 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.