A town of second homes: 34% of its homes
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.1%, Saint-Nectaire is behind 97% of compared French towns on that count. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 822, in 370 households. Households headed by a manager or professional: 5.1% of the total. Compared with other places, households without a car are scarce here: 5.6%, fewer than in 83% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Puy-de-Dôme 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-Nectaire
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 240 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Nectaire, 34% of its 720 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 69% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 100 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 0.3% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Saint-Nectaire
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
Empty homes: 14% here and 6.7% in the typical compared French town. The census found that just over a fifth of homes are flats in Saint-Nectaire. By way of comparison, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Saint-Nectaire has grown +13%, faster than 78% 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 change was +2%; from 2017 to 2023, +11%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Puy-de-Dôme town +4%.
30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 86% 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-Nectaire 47.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Saint-Nectaire is 47.9, higher than in 74% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 21%, a lower share than 71% 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 Puy-de-Dôme median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2 people in the average household. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 40%, more than in 69% of compared French towns. Couples with children: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Just over one in ten households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%).
Median living standard: €23,760 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,760 a year: lower than in 74% of compared French towns.
35% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 65% 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
Census figures put households headed by a manual worker at 14% in Saint-Nectaire. 5.1% of the town’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 35% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Saint-Nectaire, 3.8% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 75% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Saint-Nectaire comes in at 2.3%. On average, 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 lower share of married residents than 85% of compared French towns, at 37%
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
Census figures put single residents at 25% in Saint-Nectaire. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
20% of adults out of school have no qualification, a share 57% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Graduates of higher education come to 29% in Saint-Nectaire, about three in ten. For comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th 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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Saint-Nectaire is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Nectaire | 47.9 | 30% | 34% | 3.8% |
| Aydat 2,574 · 5.4 mi | 42.1 | 17% | 22% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Genès-Champanelle 4,066 · 9.3 mi | 41.5 | 18% | 3.7% | 2.2% |
| Veyre-Monton 3,721 · 10.3 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 2% | 3.3% |
| La Roche-Blanche 3,311 · 10.5 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 1.5% | 5.6% |
| Romagnat 7,894 · 11 mi | 50.1 | 29% | 1.5% | 7.6% |
| Ceyrat 6,592 · 11.2 mi | 47.2 | 26% | 2.9% | 4.5% |
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-Nectaire
What is the population of Saint-Nectaire?
822 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% more than in 2012 (726).
How old are Saint-Nectaire’s residents?
The median age is 47.9, older than 74% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Nectaire?
240, with occasional dwellings: 34% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Nectaire?
INSEE counts 31 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.8% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (2.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Nectaire?
€23,760 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 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.