A median age of 54.3: Oriol-en-Royans is older than 93% of compared French towns
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 2.3%, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Lower than in 96% of compared French towns: 3.6% of households have no car. The 2023 Census put Oriol-en-Royans’s population at 518, in 230 households. Here, 21% 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.
What stands out about the people of Oriol-en-Royans
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 52 second homes and occasional dwellings in Oriol-en-Royans, 17% of its 300 homes: higher than in 92% of compared French towns. 88% 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 Oriol-en-Royans’ residents are under 54.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.7% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Oriol-en-Royans had 541 residents at the 2012 census and 518 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A town of second homes: 17% of its homes
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Here, 7% of homes are flats. There is little gap on empty homes: 6.5%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Oriol-en-Royans changed by −4% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 86% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −2%; 2017 to 2023, −3%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Drôme town +8%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 94% of compared French towns, at 7.7%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Oriol-en-Royans 54.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly a third of residents are 65 or over (typical compared French town: 22%). Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
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%.
27% of households are one person living alone, below 88% 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
Couples with children: 23%, below 62% of compared French towns. The average household has 2.3 people. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €26,670 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 €26,670 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 58% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a manual worker than 88% of compared French towns: 21%
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 retired person: 38% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 93% of compared French towns: 1.9% of residents are immigrants
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 share of foreign nationals trails 89% of compared French towns: 1.3%. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 20% of residents 15 and over are single in Oriol-en-Royans
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 tops 78% of compared French towns: 47%. As a reference point, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 71% of compared French towns: 23%
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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, against 27% in Oriol-en-Royans. Adults with no qualification: 19% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Ranked by age, 7th oldest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Oriol-en-Royans
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oriol-en-Royans | 54.3 | 32% | 17% | 1.9% |
| Saint-Jean-en-Royans 2,874 · 1.7 mi | 50.9 | 30% | 6.5% | 6% |
| Chatuzange-le-Goubet 6,523 · 9.1 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 1.8% | 3.2% |
| Chatte 2,518 · 9.9 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 2.3% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Marcellin 7,700 · 10.8 mi | 50.5 | 29% | 2% | 11% |
| Bourg-de-Péage 9,921 · 10.8 mi | 46.4 | 25% | 0.7% | 8.3% |
| Romans-sur-Isère 33,464 · 11.2 mi | 45 | 25% | 1.8% | 13% |
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 Oriol-en-Royans
What is the population of Oriol-en-Royans?
518 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (541).
How old are Oriol-en-Royans’ residents?
The median age is 54.3, older than 93% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Oriol-en-Royans?
52, with occasional dwellings: 17% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Oriol-en-Royans?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.9% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Oriol-en-Royans?
€26,670 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 9, 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.