Tournus sits below 92% of compared French towns for couples with children (15%)
Here 37% of households are headed by a retired person, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 32%. The 2023 Census put Tournus’s population at 5,701, in 3,020 households. The census found that 21% of households have no car here. Half are older than 51.2, older than 87% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Saône-et-Loire 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 Tournus
Many people living alone
51% of Tournus’ households are one person: higher than in 95% of compared French towns; 39% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
An older town
Half of Tournus’ residents are under 51.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 31% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 480 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.
Since 2012, Tournus has changed by −3%, slower than 80% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Saône-et-Loire town −3%.
A median age of 51.2: Tournus is older than 87% 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
■ Tournus 51.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 88% of compared French towns: 31%. The census found that one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in Tournus.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 51% of households are one person living alone
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 Saône-et-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 1.8 people on average. On average, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Fewer single-parent households than in 62% of compared French towns: 9.3%.
13% of homes stand empty, more than in 92% 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
Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 15% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Locally, 51% of homes are flats. Higher than in 64% of compared French towns: 3.2% of homes are second homes.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €23,490 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 residents live in households above €23,490 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 77% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 20.0% of residents are below the line.
Tournus ranks below 57% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 8.3%
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 Tournus, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker. On average, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.9% of Tournus’ residents are immigrants
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 share of foreign nationals stands at 5.2%. That is higher than in 53% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Saône-et-Loire has 6.9%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 35% of residents 15 and over are married in Tournus
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 29% of residents 15 and over are single here. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Tournus ranks above 75% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 24%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%; Tournus has 24%. Elsewhere, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 7th 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.
Ages run from 35.2 in Valdahon to 57.6 in Cancale.
No nearby town is as old as Tournus
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournus | 51.2 | 31% | 3.2% | 6.9% |
| Sennecey-le-Grand 2,895 · 5.6 mi | 48.7 | 27% | 3.1% | 6.2% |
| Ouroux-sur-Saône 3,214 · 11.3 mi | 45.2 | 22% | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| Saint-Rémy 6,410 · 14.5 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 1.1% | 6.5% |
| Saint-Marcel 6,211 · 14.7 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 1.1% | 5.2% |
| Cluny 4,942 · 14.7 mi | 49.2 | 30% | 7.9% | 9.5% |
| Feillens 3,411 · 15.7 mi | 43.9 | 24% | 1.3% | 4.9% |
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 Tournus
What is the population of Tournus?
5,701 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (5,849).
How old are Tournus’ residents?
The median age is 51.2, older than 87% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Tournus?
110, with occasional dwellings: 3.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Tournus?
INSEE counts 390 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.9% of residents, and 300 foreign nationals (5.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Tournus?
€23,490 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 20.0% 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.