Older than 93% of compared French towns: half of Sauvessanges is over 54.3
In Sauvessanges, 46% of households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. This Puy-de-Dôme town had 531 residents in 250 households at the 2023 Census. About one in 17: that is how common single-parent households are in Sauvessanges (6%). Fewer flats than in 97% of compared French towns: 3.8%.
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 Sauvessanges
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 160 second homes and occasional dwellings in Sauvessanges, 34% of its 470 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 99% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Sauvessanges’ residents are under 54.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 60 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.
Sauvessanges sits above 95% of compared French towns for second homes (34%)
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
Without a car: one household in 11, against 11% in the median compared French town. On the census count, 13% of homes stand empty. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%.
+4% since 2012: slower than 54% 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
In two steps, +3% to 2017 and +1% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +4% in Puy-de-Dôme.
Sauvessanges sits above 93% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (34%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sauvessanges 54.3. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.5%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Puy-de-Dôme 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Only 22% of households are couples with children in Sauvessanges
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
The typical household size is 2.1 people. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. About one in three: that is how common one-person households are in Sauvessanges (34%).
Median living standard: €24,790 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.
Half of Sauvessanges’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,790 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker: 12%, a lower share than 64% 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
In Sauvessanges, one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional. 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).
Sauvessanges sits below 99% of compared French towns for immigrants (0.9%)
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Sauvessanges, 1.1%. As a reference point, 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.
Sauvessanges sits below 95% of compared French towns for single residents (19%)
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
49% of residents 15 and over are married, against 43% in the typical compared French town. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 81% of compared French towns: 22%
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
For Sauvessanges, the census puts adults with no qualification at 20%. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
41 French towns of 531 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Sauvessanges
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauvessanges | 54.3 | 34% | 34% | 0.9% |
| Ambert 6,517 · 12.4 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 8.2% | 6.5% |
| Bas-en-Basset 4,638 · 13.4 mi | 47.5 | 25% | 10% | 1.2% |
| Beauzac 2,954 · 14.5 mi | 46.6 | 23% | 17% | 1.5% |
| Retournac 3,007 · 14.7 mi | 51.1 | 32% | 17% | 3.8% |
| Saint-Marcellin-en-Forez 5,116 · 16 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 2.7% | 1.8% |
| Monistrol-sur-Loire 8,823 · 16.1 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 3.8% | 3.6% |
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 Sauvessanges
What is the population of Sauvessanges?
531 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (511).
How old are Sauvessanges’ residents?
The median age is 54.3, older than 93% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sauvessanges?
160, with occasional dwellings: 34% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sauvessanges?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.9% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sauvessanges?
€24,790 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.