Older than 93% of compared French towns: half of Salsein is over 54
The share of households headed by a retired person is 17%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Salsein counted 47 residents and 29 households at the 2023 Census. Put another way, about one in 56: 1.8% of homes stand empty. Couples with children are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ariège 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 Salsein
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 26 second homes and occasional dwellings in Salsein, 46% of its 56 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
67% of Salsein’s households are one person: higher than in 99% of compared French towns; 62% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
An older town
Half of Salsein’s residents are under 54 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Salsein, 46% of homes are second homes, more than in 97% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Across Salsein, 11% of homes are flats. With households without a car at 13%, Salsein is ahead of 62% of compared French towns on that count.
Since 2012, Salsein has grown +9%, faster than 67% 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 Ariège town +2%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 27%, a higher share than 77% 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
■ Salsein 54. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 10% in Salsein, about one in ten. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
44% women, 56% men
About 78 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
67% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% 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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 1.6 people. Set beside that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
In Salsein, 17% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 81% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Salsein has 17%. To put it in context, nearly one in ten 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 Salsein, 4.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 72% 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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 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.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 37% of residents 15 and over are single
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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, 40% of residents 15 and over are married in Salsein. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
In Salsein, 27% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 61% of compared French towns
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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Salsein comes in at 17%. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (47 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Salsein and the towns around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salsein | 54 | 27% | 46% | 4.2% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 8.5 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 6.7% | 9.1% |
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 Salsein
What is the population of Salsein?
47 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (43).
How old are Salsein’s residents?
The median age is 54, older than 93% of compared French towns. 10% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Salsein?
26, with occasional dwellings: 46% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Salsein?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.2% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.