diff --git a/esphome/components/select/select_call.h b/esphome/components/select/select_call.h
index 89f5156800..0b83cb143a 100644
--- a/esphome/components/select/select_call.h
+++ b/esphome/components/select/select_call.h
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ class SelectCall {
   SelectCall &with_index(size_t index);
 
  protected:
-  optional<size_t> calculate_target_index_(const char *name);
+  __attribute__((always_inline)) inline optional<size_t> calculate_target_index_(const char *name);
 
   Select *const parent_;
   optional<size_t> index_;