Aurel: 35% of homes are second homes, above 96% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 271 people lived in Aurel, in 140 households. Put another way, about one in 27: 3.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional. In the typical compared French town, 11% of households have no car; in the town, 5.8%.
Throughout this page, the Drôme 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 Aurel
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 80 second homes and occasional dwellings in Aurel, 35% of its 230 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 95% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A lower share of flats than 83% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
One household in 17 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Flats: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Put another way, about one in 23: 4.4% of homes stand empty.
Faster growth than 74% of compared French towns: Aurel changed by +12% since 2012
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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Drôme town +8%. The change was +1% from 2012 to 2017 and +11% from 2017 to 2023.
Aurel ranks below 88% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Aurel 47.9. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 47.9, Aurel is older than nearly three quarters of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 65 and over account for 23%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 41% in Aurel, more than in 72% 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 Drôme median and the France median
Living alone · share
11% of households are single parents, against 10% in the typical compared French town. Census figures put couples with children at 22% in Aurel. In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%.
Standard of living at the median: €24,470 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.
Living standards centre on €24,470 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 66% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 66% 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
Households headed by a manual worker: 15% of the total. For comparison, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Aurel, 5.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 61% 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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 3.3% in Aurel. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Aurel ranks below 70% of compared French towns on single residents: 23%
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 share of married residents trails 62% of compared French towns: 41%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
In Aurel, 36% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 70% 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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification here. On average, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 271 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
2 in 4 nearby towns have a higher median age than Aurel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurel | 47.9 | 23% | 35% | 5.2% |
| Die 4,844 · 5.6 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 11% | 6.7% |
| Aouste-sur-Sye 2,733 · 11.7 mi | 46 | 24% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Crest 8,658 · 13.6 mi | 46.7 | 28% | 3.9% | 6.5% |
| Dieulefit 3,289 · 16.4 mi | 58 | 39% | 18% | 7.2% |
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 Aurel
What is the population of Aurel?
271 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (243).
How old are Aurel’s residents?
The median age is 47.9, older than 74% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Aurel?
80, with occasional dwellings: 35% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Aurel?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.2% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Aurel?
€24,470 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 October 30, 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.