Above 94% of compared French towns: 32% of households rent social housing (HLM)
By its share of flats (68%), Saint-Chamond is above 89% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census Saint-Chamond was home to 35,646 people in 15,760 households. The census found that nearly a fifth of households have no car in the town. The town has more one-person households than two thirds of compared French towns, at 39%.
Throughout this page, the 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 Saint-Chamond
Social housing
32% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 18% rent privately and 49% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 2,180 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.
Slower growth than 69% of compared French towns: Saint-Chamond changed by ±0% since 2012
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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −2%; 2017 to 2023, +2%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Loire town +3%.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 12% in Saint-Chamond, more than in 75% 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-Chamond 43.3. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Saint-Chamond is 43.3, lower than in 55% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Here, 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
11% of households are single parents, a share 60% 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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2.2 people on average. For comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. At 25%, the share of couples with children is higher than in just over half of compared French towns.
Saint-Chamond sits above 88% of compared French towns for empty homes (12%)
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
Of all households, 10% moved in during the last two years and 20% have stayed three decades or more. The wider picture: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. At 1.1%, the share of second homes is lower than in 75% of compared French towns. Car-free households: one in five, where the median compared French town has 11%.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €22,710 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €22,710 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 84% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 22.8% of residents.
Saint-Chamond ranks above 73% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 18%
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 32% in the typical compared French town, 35% of households are headed by a retired person in Saint-Chamond. Lower than in 65% of compared French towns: 7.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 81% of compared French towns, at 13%
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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Saint-Chamond has 9.7%. 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 higher share of single residents than 63% of compared French towns, at 27%
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
On the census count, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
More adults with no qualification than 81% of compared French towns: 26%
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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 24% in Saint-Chamond and 30% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 33,464 to 37,928 people, the 7th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Saint-Martin-d'Hères (29.9), the youngest, and Saint-Raphaël (58.9), the oldest.
Of the 6 towns nearest Saint-Chamond, 3 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-Chamond | 43.3 | 23% | 1.1% | 13% |
| L'Horme 4,806 · 1.9 mi | 42.4 | 23% | 0.5% | 10% |
| Saint-Paul-en-Jarez 4,699 · 3.1 mi | 42.6 | 22% | 1.5% | 4.5% |
| La Grand-Croix 4,947 · 3.3 mi | 40.8 | 20% | 0.6% | 8.3% |
| Saint-Jean-Bonnefonds 6,563 · 3.6 mi | 45.2 | 24% | 0.9% | 6.6% |
| Sorbiers 8,116 · 3.7 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.2% | 5% |
| La Talaudière 7,133 · 4.1 mi | 48.2 | 29% | 1.5% | 7.6% |
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-Chamond
What is the population of Saint-Chamond?
35,646 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (35,564).
How old are Saint-Chamond’s residents?
The median age is 43.3, younger than 55% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Chamond?
210, with occasional dwellings: 1.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Chamond?
INSEE counts 4,560 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 3,470 foreign nationals (9.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Chamond?
€22,710 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.8% 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 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.