Photo: Andre Corso · CC BY-SA 4.019% of homes stand empty, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
The share of couples with children is 15%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. 3,772 residents in 1,720 households: that is Saint-Mihiel at the 2023 Census. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 4% here. Few places have as many residents aged 65 and over: 27% here, more than in 77% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Meuse 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-Mihiel
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-Mihiel had 4,339 residents at the 2012 census and 3,772 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 420 homes empty (19%): 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 than most: −13% since 2012, behind 99% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −5%, and from 2017 to 2023 −8%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Meuse town −8%.
Older than 78% of compared French towns: half of Saint-Mihiel is over 48.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Mihiel 48.8. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%).
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 118 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Meuse 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 14% in Saint-Mihiel, more than in 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 Meuse median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of one-person households tops 86% of compared French towns: 46%. In the typical compared French town, 10% of households are single parents. Each household has 1.9 people on average.
Households without a car: 20%, a higher share than 84% 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
Flats: 40% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. On top of that, at 3.2%, the share of second homes is higher than in 64% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town. The census found that just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in Saint-Mihiel.
Half above, half below €21,880 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.
Living standards centre on €21,880 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 89% of compared French towns. 23.0% of the population lives below the poverty line.
More households headed by a manual worker than 89% of compared French towns: 22%
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
In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person; in Saint-Mihiel, 34%. Elsewhere, 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).
In Saint-Mihiel, 10% of residents are immigrants, more than in 70% of compared French towns
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 share of foreign nationals is 7.7%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Meuse has 7.3%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 70% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 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.
35% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 90% 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
Here nearly a third of residents 15 and over are single, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 93% of compared French towns
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
By its share of adults with no qualification (29%), Saint-Mihiel is above 89% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 9th oldest 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 Chauconin-Neufmontiers (34.4), the oldest Brantôme en Périgord (53.9).
Among its 2 nearest neighbors, 1 are older than Saint-Mihiel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Mihiel | 48.8 | 27% | 3.2% | 10% |
| Commercy 5,350 · 9.5 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 1.9% | 9.4% |
| Ligny-en-Barrois 3,677 · 17.2 mi | 53.6 | 34% | 1.8% | 6.2% |
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-Mihiel
What is the population of Saint-Mihiel?
3,772 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (4,339).
How old are Saint-Mihiel’s residents?
The median age is 48.8, older than 78% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Mihiel?
72, with occasional dwellings: 3.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Mihiel?
INSEE counts 380 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 290 foreign nationals (7.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Mihiel?
€21,880 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 23.0% 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 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.