Half of Salers is over 63.1, older than 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Salers has 3.5%. At the 2023 Census, 310 people lived locally, in 150 households. Across Salers, 45% of households are one person living alone. Fewer households in social housing than in 87% of compared French towns: 4.7%.
Throughout this page, the Cantal 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 Salers
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Salers, 37% of its 300 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 78% 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 Salers’ residents are under 63.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 46% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 21% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Salers had 345 residents at the 2012 census and 310 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 44 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: 37%
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
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car in Salers comes in at 13%. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. In Salers, 14% of homes stand empty. Fewer flats than in 59% of compared French towns: 25%.
A −10% change since 2012: slower than 97% 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
In two steps, −5% to 2017 and −6% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −3% in Cantal.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of compared French towns: 46%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Salers 63.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Salers comes in at 6.4%. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Salers ranks below 94% of compared French towns on couples with children: 14%
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 Cantal median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 1.8 people on average. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. Single-parent households are more common here than in 54% of compared French towns.
Median living standard: €24,020 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.
At €24,020 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 7% in Salers, less than in 91% 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
Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 28% in Salers. Households headed by a manual worker: 14% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 1% in Salers, less than in 99% 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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Salers has 0.6%. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Cantal has 3.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of married residents than 90% of compared French towns: 35%
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
The census found that 26% of residents 15 and over are single in Salers. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 95% 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
Adults with no qualification: 27% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 310 to 2,582 people
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); Salers the oldest (63.1).
Salers is older than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salers | 63.1 | 46% | 37% | 1% |
| Mauriac 3,449 · 9.7 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.1% | 3.1% |
| Aurillac 26,214 · 15.3 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 4.6% | 6.7% |
| Ytrac 4,339 · 16.8 mi | 48.3 | 25% | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| Arpajon-sur-Cère 6,361 · 16.9 mi | 49.8 | 26% | 4.4% | 2% |
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 Salers
What is the population of Salers?
310 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (345).
How old are Salers’ residents?
The median age is 63.1, older than 99% of compared French towns. 9.5% are under 18 and 46% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Salers?
110, with occasional dwellings: 37% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Salers?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Salers?
€24,020 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.