Only 1.7% of homes are flats in Saint-Mesmin
1.2% of households rent social housing (HLM); in the typical compared French town the figure is 12%. Saint-Mesmin’s 760 households held 1,774 residents at the 2023 Census. Households headed by a manager or professional: 2.6% of the total. At 7.6%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 95% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Vendée 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.
+2% since 2012, a pace below 63% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +9% for the median Vendée town, the change came in two steps: +1% from 2012 to 2017, then ±0% to 2023.
Older than 81% of compared French towns: half of Saint-Mesmin is over 49.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Mesmin 49.5. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 25%, Saint-Mesmin is ahead of 68% of compared French towns on that count.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
Only 4% of households are single parents in Saint-Mesmin
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 Vendée median and the France median
Living alone · share
Where a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, Saint-Mesmin has 28%. The share of one-person households stands at 26%. Single-parent households: 10% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Fewer households without a car than 87% of compared French towns: 5.1%
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 19, against 11% in the median compared French town. Higher than in 73% of compared French towns: 9% of homes stand empty. Newcomers of less than two years account for 6.3% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 33%.
Median living standard: €24,890 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 median standard of living in Saint-Mesmin is €24,890 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 62% of compared French towns.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 29% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
The share of households headed by a retired person tops just over four fifths of compared French towns: 40%. 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).
2.5% of residents are immigrants, below 87% 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 Saint-Mesmin, 1.3% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 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 larger share of married residents than 99% of compared French towns: 58%
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Saint-Mesmin comes in at 16%. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Only 16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Saint-Mesmin
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 Saint-Mesmin, nearly a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 1,774 to 2,582 people, the 14th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Saint-Mesmin
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Mesmin | 49.5 | 25% | 2.6% | 2.5% |
| Cerizay 4,793 · 3.7 mi | 46.8 | 26% | 1.4% | 15% |
| Pouzauges 5,668 · 4.7 mi | 46.3 | 23% | 3.3% | 3.9% |
| Sèvremont 6,385 · 6.2 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 5% | 2.1% |
| Le Boupère 3,151 · 9 mi | 44 | 23% | 4.4% | 1.3% |
| Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre 5,121 · 9 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Les Epesses 2,983 · 9.7 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
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-Mesmin
What is the population of Saint-Mesmin?
1,774 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (1,747).
How old are Saint-Mesmin’s residents?
The median age is 49.5, older than 81% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Mesmin?
22, with occasional dwellings: 2.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Mesmin?
INSEE counts 44 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 23 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Mesmin?
€24,890 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 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.