Photo: Wayne77 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households headed by a manager or professional: 17%, a higher share than 83% of compared French towns
Half of Sain-Bel’s residents are under 41.4, younger than in 70% of compared French towns. Its 1,150 households held 2,566 residents at the 2023 Census. On the census count, 46% of homes are flats. Second homes make up 1.3%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
Throughout this page, the Rhône 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.
A +13% change since 2012: faster than 77% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Rhône town +10%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought +2%; 2017 to 2023, +11%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 18%, a lower share than 78% 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
■ Sain-Bel 41.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, Sain-Bel has 13%. As a yardstick, 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: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
Sain-Bel ranks above 58% of compared French towns on couples with children: 27%
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 Rhône median and the France median
Living alone · share
Little separates the share of single-parent households here, 9.1%, from the figure in the typical compared French town. Sain-Bel has more one-person households than 53% of compared French towns, at 36%. Against that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. There are 2.2 people in the average household.
Households in social housing make up 14% in Sain-Bel, more than in 55% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 17% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 13% (under two years). Against that, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. 6.3% of homes stand empty, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns. Car-free households: one in 10, where the median compared French town has 11%.
Half above, half below €28,240 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €28,240 a year: higher than in 73% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 12.0% of residents.
In Sain-Bel, 25% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 82% 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
More households headed by a manual worker than in 59% of compared French towns: 15%. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 8%, a higher share than 60% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Sain-Bel has 5.7%. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Rhône has 8.2%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 60% of compared French towns.
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 72% of compared French towns, at 29%
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
A larger share of graduates of higher education than 63% of compared French towns: 34%
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 Sain-Bel, the census puts adults with no qualification at 19%. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 2,533 to 2,599 people: this is the 9th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Eymet (61.2), the oldest.
A younger town than 2 of the 6 around it: Sain-Bel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sain-Bel | 41.4 | 18% | 1.3% | 8% |
| Saint-Pierre-la-Palud 2,616 · 1.7 mi | 42.1 | 17% | 1.5% | 3% |
| L'Arbresle 6,537 · 1.8 mi | 40.1 | 18% | 1.7% | 11% |
| Lentilly 6,623 · 3.3 mi | 42.9 | 19% | 1.1% | 4.7% |
| Pollionnay 2,958 · 4.4 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2% | 4% |
| Lozanne 3,182 · 5.1 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 0.9% | 5.7% |
| Marcy-l'Étoile 3,778 · 5.5 mi | 40.6 | 17% | 9% | 7.5% |
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 Sain-Bel
What is the population of Sain-Bel?
2,566 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% more than in 2012 (2,271).
How old are Sain-Bel’s residents?
The median age is 41.4, younger than 70% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sain-Bel?
16, with occasional dwellings: 1.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sain-Bel?
INSEE counts 210 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8% of residents, and 150 foreign nationals (5.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sain-Bel?
€28,240 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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 4, 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.