Ostel: 50% of households are headed by a retired person, above 97% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Ostel had 92 residents in 40 households at the 2023 census. The census found that 8.5% of residents are 15 to 24 in the town. In Ostel, 13% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town.
Throughout this page, the Aisne 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 Ostel
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 7 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ostel, 15% of its 51 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 80% 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.
Ostel sits above 91% of compared French towns for second homes (15%)
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%; Ostel has 15%. To put it in context, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Locally, 5.9% of homes stand empty. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Growth of +15% since 2012 puts Ostel ahead of 82% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved ±0%, then +15% to 2023. Over those years, the median Aisne town changed −4% and the median compared French town +5%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 87% of compared French towns, at 31%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ostel 48.5. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 48.5, Ostel is older than 77% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Ostel ranks above 60% of compared French towns on one-person households: 38%
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 Aisne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households here average 2.3 people each. The usual figure: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. At 25%, the share of couples with children is lower than in just over half of compared French towns.
The largest group of households: retired (50%)
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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.4% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 66% of compared French towns don’t reach
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.
Set against 6.5% in the typical compared French town, 5.3% of residents are immigrants in Ostel. As a reference point, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Immigrants make up a share lower than in 60% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Aisne has 5.7%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 34% in Ostel, less than in 92% 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 share of single residents is 21%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Ostel, 37% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 99% 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
Graduates of higher education: 16% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 92 to 2,582 people, the 15th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Ostel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ostel | 48.5 | 31% | 15% | 5.3% |
| Laon 24,220 · 9.7 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 1.8% | 9.4% |
| Fismes 5,850 · 9.8 mi | 43.6 | 23% | 1.5% | 3.1% |
| Crouy 3,049 · 9.9 mi | 44.9 | 24% | 1.3% | 5.7% |
| Villeneuve-Saint-Germain 2,616 · 10.4 mi | 42.3 | 21% | 1.3% | 12% |
| Athies-sous-Laon 2,578 · 11.1 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 0.7% | 2% |
| Belleu 3,659 · 11.5 mi | 51.5 | 31% | 1.4% | 11% |
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 Ostel
What is the population of Ostel?
92 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% more than in 2012 (80).
How old are Ostel’s residents?
The median age is 48.5, older than 77% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 31% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ostel?
7, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ostel?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.3% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (6.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.