Older than 95% of compared French towns: half of Souternon is over 55.6
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 1% of homes are flats here. Souternon is home to 293 residents in 140 households, by the 2023 Census. 3% of households have no car, or about one in 33. Higher than in 97% of compared French towns: 50% of households are headed by a retired person.
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 Souternon
One home in nine is a second home
The census counted 23 second homes and occasional dwellings in Souternon, 11% of its 210 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Souternon’s residents are under 55.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 43 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.
Souternon sits above 99% of compared French towns for 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
Where just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, Souternon has 0.5%. Locally, just over one in ten homes are second homes. In the typical compared French town, empty homes come to 6.7%.
Souternon’s population moved −4% on 2012, less than in 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +3% in Loire. Here the change came as −6% to 2017, then +2% to 2023.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 5.2%, a lower share than 99% 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
■ Souternon 55.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Souternon has 32%. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 117 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
3.5% of households are single parents, below 99% 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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Couples with children: 21% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. Households average 2.1 people. 34% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €23,900 a year in 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.
At €23,900 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 73% of compared French towns.
In Souternon, 23% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 93% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 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 lower share of immigrants than 87% of compared French towns, at 2.5%
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.
The median compared commune in Loire has 5.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 87% of compared French towns. Against that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Census figures put foreign nationals at 1.6% in Souternon.
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 married residents than 87% of compared French towns, at 49%
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
A quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, against 24% in Souternon. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 72% of compared French towns: 24%
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 make up about one in five here (20%). Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (293 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Souternon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Souternon | 55.6 | 32% | 11% | 2.5% |
| Boën-sur-Lignon 3,001 · 8.7 mi | 55.3 | 35% | 2.3% | 3.6% |
| Villerest 5,172 · 9.3 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 1.9% | 6.1% |
| Commelle-Vernay 3,050 · 9.3 mi | 49 | 27% | 1% | 3.5% |
| Balbigny 2,911 · 10.5 mi | 46.4 | 26% | 3.1% | 5.6% |
| Le Coteau 6,845 · 11.4 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 1.6% | 6.8% |
| Roanne 35,409 · 12 mi | 45 | 27% | 3.1% | 14% |
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 Souternon
What is the population of Souternon?
293 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (305).
How old are Souternon’s residents?
The median age is 55.6, older than 95% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Souternon?
23, with occasional dwellings: 11% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Souternon?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Souternon?
€23,900 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.