A higher share of flats than 87% of compared French towns, at 65%
Where a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, Sélestat has 21%. Still, on households headed by a manual worker, Sélestat sits higher than nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 19%. 19,589 residents in 9,460 households: that is Sélestat at the 2023 Census. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 13%.
Throughout this page, the Bas-Rhin 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.
Sélestat changed by +1% from 2012 to 2023, behind 66% 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 Bas-Rhin town +6%.
A median age of 42.9: Sélestat is younger than 59% 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
■ Sélestat 42.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Where 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Sélestat has 20%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Bas-Rhin 51.5%, France 51.8%.
Sélestat ranks above 77% of compared French towns on one-person households: 42%
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 Bas-Rhin median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2 people on average. Elsewhere, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. One in ten households are single parents, a higher share than in 53% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households without a car than 73% of compared French towns: 16%
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 12% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 14%. The benchmark for households without a car in the typical compared French town: 11%. Sélestat has more empty homes than two thirds of compared French towns, at 8.4%. Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 1.7%.
€25,480 a year is the median standard of living here
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 Sélestat is €25,480 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 55% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 15.0%.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 65% of compared French towns: 30%
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
The share of households headed by a manager or professional is 11%, 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).
More immigrants than 75% of compared French towns: 11%
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.
By its share of foreign nationals (9.1%), Sélestat is above 79% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 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 78% of compared French towns: 30% 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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Sélestat, 40%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
24% of adults out of school have no qualification, a share 72% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Sélestat, 32%. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
19th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 18,761 to 20,456
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Juvisy-sur-Orge is the youngest (33.9); Royan the oldest (64.5).
Older than Sélestat: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sélestat | 42.9 | 20% | 1.7% | 11% |
| Scherwiller 3,099 · 2.3 mi | 47.5 | 22% | 1.6% | 4.5% |
| Châtenois 4,294 · 2.4 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 1.5% | 3.9% |
| Hilsenheim 2,604 · 5.4 mi | 41.9 | 20% | 1.7% | 2.4% |
| Ribeauvillé 4,685 · 7.5 mi | 47.9 | 28% | 9.6% | 6.9% |
| Marckolsheim 4,398 · 8.1 mi | 44 | 23% | 2.2% | 13% |
| Huttenheim 2,735 · 9.1 mi | 42.2 | 17% | 0.9% | 4.9% |
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 Sélestat
What is the population of Sélestat?
19,589 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (19,397).
How old are Sélestat’s residents?
The median age is 42.9, younger than 59% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sélestat?
180, with occasional dwellings: 1.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sélestat?
INSEE counts 2,180 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 1,780 foreign nationals (9.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sélestat?
€25,480 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 15.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.