Half of Rochepaule is over 62.1, older than 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%; Rochepaule has 12%. The town had 237 residents in 130 households at the 2023 Census. Here, 3.9% of households are headed by a manual worker. 1.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), a lower share than in 98% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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 Rochepaule
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Rochepaule, 42% of its 300 homes: higher than in 96% 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 Rochepaule’s residents are under 62.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 45% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Rochepaule had 277 residents at the 2012 census and 237 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 42 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 96% of compared French towns: 42%
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
Car-free households: one in eight, where the median compared French town has 11%. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. About one in 28: that is how common flats are in Rochepaule (3.6%). On empty homes, Rochepaule sits higher than 94% of compared French towns: 14%.
Slower growth than 99% of compared French towns: Rochepaule changed by −14% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −6%, then −8% to 2023. Over those years, the median Ardèche town changed +4% and the median compared French town +5%.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 45% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Rochepaule 62.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 2.6% of residents are 15 to 24 here. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 45%, a higher share than 84% 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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 1.8 people each. By way of comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. 12% of households are single parents, a higher share than in 74% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €20,290 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.
Living standards centre on €20,290 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 96% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 46% in Rochepaule, more than in 94% 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
16% of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town: 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 71% of compared French towns: 4.3%
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.
Foreign nationals make up about one in 23 here (4.3%). 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.
Rochepaule ranks above 77% of compared French towns on married residents: 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
Single residents make up about one in four here (25%). The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 38% of adults out of school have no 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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, against 19% in Rochepaule.
Of 41 French towns its size (237 to 2,582 people), the 2nd 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
No nearby town is as old as Rochepaule
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochepaule | 62.1 | 45% | 42% | 4.3% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 7.6 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
| Tence 3,111 · 8.5 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 19% | 1.9% |
| Dunières 2,670 · 10.9 mi | 47.2 | 27% | 6.5% | 4.1% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 12 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Roiffieux 2,743 · 13.9 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 2.8% | 2.3% |
| Annonay 17,274 · 15.2 mi | 45.6 | 25% | 3.4% | 14% |
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 Rochepaule
What is the population of Rochepaule?
237 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (277).
How old are Rochepaule’s residents?
The median age is 62.1, older than 99% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 45% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Rochepaule?
120, with occasional dwellings: 42% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Rochepaule?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Rochepaule?
€20,290 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.