Above 99% of compared French towns: 24% of households are single parents
The median age in Saint-Joseph is 49.9, higher than in 83% of compared French towns. For Saint-Joseph, the census puts households without a car at 20%. There were 7,470 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 16,258 residents. In Saint-Joseph, 5.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional, beside 9.4% in the typical compared French town.
Throughout this page, the Martinique 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-Joseph
Empty homes
The census found 1,110 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −2% since 2012 leaves Saint-Joseph behind 79% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Martinique town ±0%.
25% of residents are 65 or over, a share 64% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Joseph 49.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.9%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: France 51.8%.
Saint-Joseph sits below 82% of compared French towns for couples with children (18%)
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 Martinique median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2.2 people. Elsewhere, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 37% of households are one person living alone; in the typical compared French town the figure is 35%.
13% of homes stand empty, more than in 91% of compared French towns
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 7.2% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 29%. At 1.5%, the share of second homes is lower than in 63% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. One household in five has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town.
31% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 59% 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
About one in seven: that is how common households headed by a manual worker are in Saint-Joseph (14%). On average, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 1.5% of residents are immigrants in Saint-Joseph
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.
1% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. The wider picture: 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 97% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Saint-Joseph, 47% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 99% of compared French towns
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, just over a third of residents 15 and over are married here. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 84% of compared French towns, at 27%
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 share of graduates of higher education is 22%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (15,768 to 16,756 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 Saint-Julien-en-Genevois (35.4), the oldest Biscarrosse (53.2).
Saint-Joseph and its 6 nearest towns: 1 of them 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-Joseph | 49.9 | 25% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Gros-Morne 9,610 · 3.3 mi | 53.1 | 29% | 2.5% | 1.3% |
| Le Lamentin 39,400 · 3.5 mi | 44.6 | 19% | 1.6% | 3.1% |
| Fort-de-France 75,506 · 3.7 mi | 46.3 | 23% | 3.1% | 6.1% |
| Schœlcher 19,478 · 5.2 mi | 45.9 | 24% | 6% | 2.8% |
| Le Robert 21,553 · 6 mi | 47.1 | 22% | 9% | 1.4% |
| Case-Pilote 4,537 · 6.9 mi | 48.6 | 22% | 2.5% | 2.3% |
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-Joseph
What is the population of Saint-Joseph?
16,258 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% fewer than in 2012 (16,648).
How old are Saint-Joseph’s residents?
The median age is 49.9, older than 83% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Joseph?
130, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Joseph?
INSEE counts 240 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 170 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.