More couples with children than 99% of compared French towns: 45%
Where 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, Sarcus has 6.2%. The town’s 110 households held 262 residents at the 2023 Census. One in ten homes are second homes. Residents aged 65 and over are rarer here than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Oise 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 Sarcus
A town of families
45% of households are couples with children and 4.5% single parents with children; 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sarcus had 278 residents at the 2012 census and 262 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 18 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.
Slower growth than 90% of compared French towns: Sarcus changed by −6% since 2012
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 Oise town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −5% and the next six −1%.
Sarcus is younger than 63% of compared French towns: a median age of 42.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sarcus 42.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 12%, against 11% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Oise 51.7%, France 51.8%.
4.5% of households are single parents, fewer than in 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 Oise median and the France median
Living alone · share
The figure for one-person households is 28% in Sarcus and 35% in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.5 people share a household. As a yardstick, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
1.3% of homes are flats, fewer than in 99% 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
In Sarcus, 13% of homes stand empty, beside 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. For Sarcus, the census puts households without a car at 9.8%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €24,250 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 midpoint of living standards here is €24,250 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
25% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 96% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
29% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. For Sarcus, the census puts households headed by a manager or professional at 4.5%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 0.7% of residents are immigrants in Sarcus
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 Oise has 7.4%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.7% of residents are foreign nationals here.
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 84% of compared French towns, at 48%
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
The figure for single residents is 27% in Sarcus and 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
Below 92% of compared French towns: 18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education 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
The share of adults with no qualification is 31%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 262 to 2,582 people, 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Sarcus is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarcus | 42.4 | 17% | 9.8% | 0.7% |
| Grandvilliers 2,786 · 3.4 mi | 51.1 | 31% | 2% | 2.6% |
| Crèvecœur-le-Grand 3,462 · 10.8 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 1.2% | 1.9% |
| Forges-les-Eaux 3,642 · 15.3 mi | 55.9 | 36% | 2.7% | 2.1% |
| Gournay-en-Bray 5,723 · 15.4 mi | 51.9 | 31% | 1.4% | 4.4% |
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 Sarcus
What is the population of Sarcus?
262 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (278).
How old are Sarcus’ residents?
The median age is 42.4, younger than 63% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sarcus?
13, with occasional dwellings: 9.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sarcus?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.7% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sarcus?
€24,250 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 October 30, 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.