Espeluche sits below 99% of compared French towns for households without a car (2.5%)
The share of households in social housing is 4.2%, against 12% in the typical compared French town. Espeluche has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 88% of compared French towns, at 8.5%. There were 490 households here at the 2023 Census, home to 1,134 residents. On the census count, 7.2% of households are single parents.
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.
Since 2012, Espeluche 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +8% for the median Drôme town, the change came in two steps: +3% from 2012 to 2017, then +7% to 2023.
18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 76% 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
■ Espeluche 46.8. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 46.8, Espeluche is older than 68% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Above 81% of compared French towns: 31% of households are couples with children
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%; Espeluche has 29%. Measured more widely, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Espeluche sits below 91% of compared French towns for flats (7.5%)
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
Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, one in ten homes stand empty in Espeluche. Put another way, about one in 29: 3.4% of homes are second homes. For flats, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
€27,830 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.
Half of residents live in households above €27,830 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 69% of compared French towns.
Espeluche sits above 76% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (18%)
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
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional here. 31% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 59% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 85% of compared French towns: 2.6%
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.
Here 1.3% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. 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.
Single residents: 18%, a lower share than 98% of compared French towns
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 figure for married residents is 52% in Espeluche and 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 80% of compared French towns: 14%
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 Espeluche, 36% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,134 to 2,582 people), the 18th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Around Espeluche, 1 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espeluche | 46.8 | 18% | 3.4% | 2.6% |
| Montboucher-sur-Jabron 2,592 · 2.4 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Montélimar 40,595 · 4.4 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 2.7% | 13% |
| Châteauneuf-du-Rhône 2,917 · 5.1 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 3.7% | 6.4% |
| Le Teil 8,726 · 7.2 mi | 43 | 22% | 2.9% | 13% |
| Viviers 3,633 · 7.5 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 4.5% | 5.9% |
| Donzère 6,008 · 7.7 mi | 39.5 | 17% | 1.1% | 7.5% |
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 Espeluche
What is the population of Espeluche?
1,134 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (1,037).
How old are Espeluche’s residents?
The median age is 46.8, older than 68% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Espeluche?
19, with occasional dwellings: 3.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Espeluche?
INSEE counts 30 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 15 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Espeluche?
€27,830 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.