A median age of 59.5: La Selve is older than 98% of compared French towns
5.7% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). La Selve is home to 562 residents in 280 households, by the 2023 Census. Here, 16% of households are couples with children. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Aveyron 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 La Selve
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 71 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Selve, 17% of its 420 homes: higher than in 92% 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 La Selve’s residents are under 59.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 39% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Selve had 643 residents at the 2012 census and 562 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 72 homes empty (17%): 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 empty homes than 98% of compared French towns: 17%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%; La Selve has 17%. As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Census figures put households without a car at 9% in the town.
From 2012 to 2023, 99% of compared French towns grew faster than La Selve: −13%
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 first five years brought −2%; the six to 2023, −11%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Aveyron town +1%.
La Selve: 39% of residents are 65 or over, above 97% 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
■ La Selve 59.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 6.4%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aveyron 52.1%, France 51.8%.
12% of households are single parents, a share 83% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Aveyron median and the France median
Living alone · share
Against a figure of 35% in the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households in La Selve comes in at 32%. Households here average 2 people each. In the typical compared French town, 10% of households are single parents.
€23,420 a year: the median standard of living
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.
At €23,420 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 78% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns: 1.8%
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
Households headed by a manual worker make up 7.1%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. The share of households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town is 9.4%. On the census count, 43% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 85% of compared French towns: 2.7%
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 foreign nationals is 1.2%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. On average, 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 99% of compared French towns: 57% of residents 15 and over are married
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
In La Selve, 22% of residents 15 and over are single, beside 25% in the typical compared French town. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
In La Selve, 29% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 89% 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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 21% in La Selve and 30% in the typical compared French town. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 562 to 2,582 people: this is the 4th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as La Selve
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Selve | 59.5 | 39% | 17% | 2.7% |
| Baraqueville 3,173 · 12.9 mi | 45.3 | 22% | 4.3% | 3.4% |
| Luc-la-Primaube 6,046 · 13.5 mi | 49.5 | 28% | 2.8% | 3.5% |
| Olemps 3,559 · 16.2 mi | 51.6 | 30% | 2% | 3.6% |
| Rodez 23,981 · 17.5 mi | 41.7 | 24% | 4.3% | 11% |
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 La Selve
What is the population of La Selve?
562 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (643).
How old are La Selve’s residents?
The median age is 59.5, older than 98% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 39% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Selve?
71, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Selve?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.7% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Selve?
€23,420 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 8, 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.