35% of households are couples with children, a share 93% of compared French towns don’t reach
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 4.4% of homes are flats in Saint-Ay. The town had 3,766 residents in 1,530 households at the 2023 Census. For Saint-Ay, the census puts households without a car at 3.7%. Fewer households in social housing than in 94% of compared French towns: 3.1%.
Throughout this page, the Loiret 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-Ay
A town of families
35% of households are couples with children and 8.3% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Saint-Ay had 3,188 residents at the 2012 census and 3,766 in 2023, up 18%: faster growth than in 88% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Saint-Ay has grown +18%, faster than 88% 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 Loiret town changed +6% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +8% and the next six +9%.
A median age of 41: Saint-Ay is younger than 73% 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-Ay 41. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.9% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. A fifth of residents are 65 or over, or about one in five.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Loiret 51.7%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 26%, a lower share than 91% 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 Loiret median and the France median
Living alone · share
By its share of single-parent households (8.3%), Saint-Ay is below 77% of compared French towns. A household here holds 2.5 people on average. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%.
Saint-Ay sits below 89% of compared French towns for empty homes (3.9%)
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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 6.5%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 23%. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 2.6%, more than in 58% of compared French towns.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €28,070 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 median standard of living in Saint-Ay is €28,070 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 71% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 6.0%.
A larger share of households headed by a manager or professional than 67% of compared French towns: 13%
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 account for 31%. Lower than in 55% of compared French towns: 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. To put it in context, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.9% of Saint-Ay’s residents are immigrants
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 Loiret has 9.8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 53% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up about one in 14 here (6.9%). 4.6% of residents are foreign nationals, about the same as 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
46% of residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Below 77% of compared French towns: 14% of adults out of school have no 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
37% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
41 French towns of 3,734 to 3,798 people: this is the 10th youngest
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 34.4 in Chauconin-Neufmontiers to 56.6 in Ribérac.
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Saint-Ay 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-Ay | 41 | 20% | 2.6% | 6.9% |
| Chaingy 4,116 · 1.8 mi | 42.3 | 18% | 1.5% | 5.7% |
| Cléry-Saint-André 3,596 · 2.6 mi | 43 | 20% | 7.3% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Mesmin 3,261 · 3.5 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 3% | 6.1% |
| Meung-sur-Loire 6,670 · 3.5 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 4.9% | 7.4% |
| La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin 11,017 · 4.1 mi | 43.7 | 23% | 1.7% | 14% |
| Ingré 10,062 · 5.3 mi | 40.4 | 17% | 1.1% | 13% |
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-Ay
What is the population of Saint-Ay?
3,766 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% more than in 2012 (3,188).
How old are Saint-Ay’s residents?
The median age is 41, younger than 73% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Ay?
43, with occasional dwellings: 2.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Ay?
INSEE counts 260 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.9% of residents, and 170 foreign nationals (4.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Ay?
€28,070 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 6.0% 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 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.