Salavas ranks above 98% of compared French towns on second homes: 52%
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Salavas comes in at 3.6%. Households without a car make up about one in 23 here (4.3%). Compared with other places, households in social housing are scarce here: 3.2%, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 740, in 370 households.
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 Salavas
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 480 second homes and occasional dwellings in Salavas, 52% of its 930 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 35% 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 Salavas’ residents are under 53.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Salavas had 604 residents at the 2012 census and 740 in 2023, up 23%: faster growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Flats make up 41% in Salavas, more than in 65% 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
The share of empty homes is 7.7%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. 14% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 9.9% moved in within the last two years.
A growing town: +23% since 2012, faster than 93% 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
The years 2012 to 2017 brought +13%; 2017 to 2023, +9%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Ardèche town +4%.
Half of Salavas is over 53.4, older than 91% 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
■ Salavas 53.4. The median compared French town: 44.
In Salavas, 28% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children: 17%, a lower 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
Nothing unusual on single-parent households: 9.3%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town. The census found that 37% of households are one person living alone in Salavas. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €23,570 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 €23,570 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 76% of compared French towns.
Only 2.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Salavas
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
With households headed by a manual worker at 20%, Salavas is ahead of 83% of compared French towns on that count. In Salavas, 37% of households are headed by a retired person. Typically, 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).
In Salavas, 1.8% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 82% 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.
The share of immigrants trails 70% of compared French towns: 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
20% of residents 15 and over are single, below 93% of compared French towns
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
With married residents at 48%, Salavas is ahead of 81% of compared French towns on that count. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Salavas ranks below 73% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 15%
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
Graduates of higher education account for 30%. As a yardstick, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 740 to 2,582 people, the 7th 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.
Median age: 3 of the 6 towns around Salavas are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salavas | 53.4 | 28% | 52% | 4.3% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 12.1 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 12.9 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| Bourg-Saint-Andéol 7,661 · 13 mi | 44.2 | 25% | 3.9% | 14% |
| Villeneuve-de-Berg 3,031 · 13.2 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 8% | 5.1% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Fontbellon 2,920 · 14.2 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 15.3 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
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 Salavas
What is the population of Salavas?
740 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 23% more than in 2012 (604).
How old are Salavas’ residents?
The median age is 53.4, older than 91% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Salavas?
480, with occasional dwellings: 52% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Salavas?
INSEE counts 32 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Salavas?
€23,570 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.