A higher share of couples with children than 98% of compared French towns, at 39%
In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty; in Sarcenas, 1.8%. 2.2% of households have no car, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. The town is home to 261 residents in 100 households, by the 2023 Census. The census found that 7.9% of residents are 15 to 24 in the town.
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 Sarcenas
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 16 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sarcenas, 13% of its 120 homes: higher than in 90% 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 ↓
A town of families
39% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Sarcenas had 200 residents at the 2012 census and 261 in 2023, up 31%: faster growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many graduates
61% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 34% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A larger share of second homes than 90% of compared French towns: 13%
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
Flats make up 10%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. On top of that, households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
A +31% change since 2012: faster than 97% 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
Here the change came as −6% to 2017, then +38% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +7% in Isère.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 81% of compared French towns: 17%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sarcenas 42.8. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 42.8, Sarcenas is younger than 60% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 118 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Sarcenas sits below 86% of compared French towns for one-person households (28%)
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
There are 2.5 people in the average household. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €35,990 a year to live on
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 €35,990 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 96% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a manager or professional than 98% of compared French towns: 33%
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 retired person make up 28%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. 17% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in six. In the typical compared French town, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 0.9% of residents are foreign nationals in Sarcenas
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.
Here 3.1% of residents are immigrants, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Isère has 8%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 97% of compared French towns: 18% of residents 15 and over are single
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 43% in the typical compared French town, 49% of residents 15 and over are married in Sarcenas. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
A larger share of graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns: 61%
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: 8.1% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
Ranked by age, 10th youngest 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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 5 are older than Sarcenas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarcenas | 42.8 | 17% | 13% | 3.1% |
| Corenc 4,215 · 4.1 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 2.4% | 7.2% |
| Saint-Ismier 7,165 · 4.3 mi | 49.2 | 27% | 2.4% | 6.2% |
| Montbonnot-Saint-Martin 5,698 · 4.3 mi | 45.1 | 24% | 1.8% | 6.8% |
| Meylan 18,770 · 4.5 mi | 45.7 | 27% | 3.3% | 9.5% |
| Saint-Égrève 17,986 · 4.5 mi | 42 | 21% | 1% | 10% |
| Fontanil-Cornillon 3,404 · 4.7 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 1.3% | 9.5% |
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 Sarcenas
What is the population of Sarcenas?
261 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 31% more than in 2012 (200).
How old are Sarcenas’ residents?
The median age is 42.8, younger than 60% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sarcenas?
16, with occasional dwellings: 13% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sarcenas?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sarcenas?
€35,990 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.