0.6% of households rent social housing (HLM), below 99% of compared French towns
In Sainte-Mesme, 4.2% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. Census figures put second homes at 8% in the town. On households without a car, Sainte-Mesme sits lower than 89% of compared French towns: 4.8%. The town had 904 residents in 350 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Yvelines 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.
Slower growth than 71% of compared French towns: Sainte-Mesme changed by ±0% since 2012
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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Yvelines town +7%. The change was +4% from 2012 to 2017 and −4% from 2017 to 2023.
Sainte-Mesme sits below 80% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (17%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sainte-Mesme 43.9. The median compared French town: 44.
9% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. What’s more, the median age in Sainte-Mesme is 43.9, lower than in 51% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Yvelines 51.6%, France 51.8%.
27% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 88% 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 Yvelines median and the France median
Living alone · share
Where 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, Sainte-Mesme has 31%. By way of comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 2.3 people on average.
11% of homes are flats, fewer than in 86% 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
Empty homes make up 5.5%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Long tenure is the mark of 23% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 8.1% (under two years).
Median standard of living: €31,870 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 Sainte-Mesme is €31,870 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 91% of compared French towns.
In Sainte-Mesme, 27% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 95% 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
5.8% of households are headed by a manual worker; in the typical compared French town the figure is 14%. For households headed by a manager or professional, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 9.4%. The census found that 24% of households are headed by a retired person in Sainte-Mesme.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Sainte-Mesme ranks below 63% of compared French towns on foreign nationals: 3.1%
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.
Across Sainte-Mesme, 6.1% of residents are immigrants. That is lower than in 54% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Yvelines has 15%. Typically, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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 77% of compared French towns: 47%
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, 28% of residents 15 and over are single here. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Above 76% of compared French towns: 38% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
With adults with no qualification at 17%, Sainte-Mesme is behind 62% of compared French towns on that count. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
41 French towns of 904 to 2,582 people: this is the 16th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Older than Sainte-Mesme: 2 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Mesme | 43.9 | 17% | 8% | 6.1% |
| Dourdan 11,415 · 2.5 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 2.2% | 15% |
| Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines 5,875 · 3 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 2.5% | 8.6% |
| Ablis 3,913 · 5.5 mi | 37.9 | 13% | 2.1% | 10% |
| Saint-Chéron 5,132 · 7.7 mi | 41.6 | 18% | 13% | 9.8% |
| Forges-les-Bains 4,241 · 9 mi | 39.5 | 15% | 2.2% | 8.6% |
| Limours 6,517 · 9.5 mi | 44.2 | 21% | 1.7% | 12% |
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 Sainte-Mesme
What is the population of Sainte-Mesme?
904 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (906).
How old are Sainte-Mesme’s residents?
The median age is 43.9, younger than 51% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sainte-Mesme?
33, with occasional dwellings: 8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sainte-Mesme?
INSEE counts 55 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.1% of residents, and 28 foreign nationals (3.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sainte-Mesme?
€31,870 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.