A smaller share of couples with children than 90% of compared French towns: 15%
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 62% in Sarreguemines. Census day 2023: 20,143 residents and 10,250 households here. Households without a car: 19% of the total. With a median age of 48.8, Sarreguemines is older than 78% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Moselle 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 Sarreguemines
Many people living alone
50% of Sarreguemines’ households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sarreguemines had 21,605 residents at the 2012 census and 20,143 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 1,580 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.
Sarreguemines changed by −7% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 93% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −1% for the median Moselle town, the change came in two steps: −4% from 2012 to 2017, then −3% to 2023.
More residents aged 65 and over than 74% of compared French towns: 26%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sarreguemines 48.8. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Sarreguemines, 50% of households are one person living alone, more than in 94% 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 Moselle median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 1.9 people. As a reference point, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Here, one in ten households are single parents.
Sarreguemines ranks above 92% of compared French towns on empty homes: 13%
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
At 1.6%, the share of second homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town. More households in social housing than in 65% of compared French towns: 16%. The usual figure: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €22,890 a year per consumption unit
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €22,890 a year: lower than in 82% of compared French towns. 23.0% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Sarreguemines ranks above 67% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 36%
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, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Sarreguemines has 16%. The share of households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town is 32%. The census found that nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 85% of compared French towns, at 15%
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.
Just over one in ten residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). Typically, 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 83% of compared French towns, at 31%
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
In Sarreguemines, 38% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Sarreguemines sits above 84% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (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
By its share of graduates of higher education (25%), Sarreguemines is below 70% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 19,527 to 20,787 people: this is the 4th 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.
Denain is the youngest (34); Vence the oldest (49.5).
Around Sarreguemines, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarreguemines | 48.8 | 26% | 1.6% | 15% |
| Hambach 2,766 · 3.6 mi | 47.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 9.3% |
| Grosbliederstroff 3,346 · 3.7 mi | 50.2 | 24% | 0.9% | 31% |
| Woustviller 2,786 · 4.1 mi | 50 | 26% | 0.1% | 12% |
| Behren-lès-Forbach 6,166 · 7.2 mi | 41.5 | 22% | 0.5% | 27% |
| Spicheren 3,143 · 7.4 mi | 49.4 | 24% | 0.9% | 30% |
| Puttelange-aux-Lacs 3,016 · 7.8 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 8.1% | 15% |
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 Sarreguemines
What is the population of Sarreguemines?
20,143 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (21,605).
How old are Sarreguemines’ residents?
The median age is 48.8, older than 78% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sarreguemines?
200, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sarreguemines?
INSEE counts 2,980 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 15% of residents, and 2,260 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sarreguemines?
€22,890 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.