A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 2.1%
Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 1% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. In 2023, the Census found 193 residents in Espenel, living in 96 households. Put another way, about one in five: a fifth of households are headed by a manager or professional. The town has more one-person households than 86% of compared French towns, at 46%.
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 Espenel
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 33 second homes and occasional dwellings in Espenel, 24% of its 140 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 85% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Espenel had 137 residents at the 2012 census and 193 in 2023, up 41%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Espenel, 24% of homes are second homes, more than in 94% of compared French towns
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
Nothing unusual on empty homes: 7.6%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few households without a car: 5.8% here, fewer than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. Set beside that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Locally, 18% of homes are flats.
Since 2012, Espenel has grown +41%, faster than 99% 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
The median Drôme town changed +8% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +26% and the next six +12%.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 75% of compared French towns: 18%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Espenel 41.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Espenel’s residents are under 41.4, younger than in 70% of compared French towns. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 15%, a lower share than 89% 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
The average household has 2 people. On average, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are more common here than in 95% of compared French towns.
€22,750 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 Espenel is €22,750 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 83% of compared French towns.
Espenel sits below 73% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (28%)
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
Lower than in just over half of compared French towns: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker. Elsewhere, nearly a third 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).
Espenel ranks below 64% of compared French towns on immigrants: 4.9%
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 median compared commune in Drôme has 6.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 64% of compared French towns. Foreign nationals make up about one in 29 here (3.5%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of married residents than 98% of compared French towns, at 29%
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 28% of residents 15 and over are single here. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 91% of compared French towns: 11%
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 Espenel, 44% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. For adults with no qualification, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 19%.
7th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 193 to 2,582
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).
Espenel is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espenel | 41.4 | 18% | 24% | 4.9% |
| Die 4,844 · 8.3 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 11% | 6.7% |
| Aouste-sur-Sye 2,733 · 8.9 mi | 46 | 24% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Crest 8,658 · 10.9 mi | 46.7 | 28% | 3.9% | 6.5% |
| Dieulefit 3,289 · 13.9 mi | 58 | 39% | 18% | 7.2% |
| Montmeyran 2,960 · 16.2 mi | 48.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 3% |
| Allex 2,698 · 16.5 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 3.4% | 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 Espenel
What is the population of Espenel?
193 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 41% more than in 2012 (137).
How old are Espenel’s residents?
The median age is 41.4, younger than 70% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Espenel?
33, with occasional dwellings: 24% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Espenel?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.9% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (3.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Espenel?
€22,750 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.