Fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns: 1.2%
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, a fifth of households are one person living alone here. Census day 2023: 183 residents and 74 households in Bost. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 16%. 27% of households are headed by a retired person, a lower share than in 78% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Allier 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 Bost
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bost had 196 residents at the 2012 census and 183 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
33% of households are couples with children and 13% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 12 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −7% since 2012 leaves Bost behind 92% 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 first five years brought −4%; the six to 2023, −3%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Allier town −1%.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of compared French towns: 7.9%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bost 40.1. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 40.1, Bost is younger than nearly four fifths of compared French towns. The usual figure: 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 33%, a higher share than 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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.5 people. By way of comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Few places have as many single-parent households: 13% here, more than in 89% of compared French towns.
14% of homes stand empty, more than in 93% 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
Set against 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 5% of homes are second homes in Bost. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 7.8% moved in during the last two years and 19% have stayed three decades or more. Households without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €25,030 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 €25,030 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 60% of compared French towns.
Only 6.7% of households are headed by a manual worker in Bost
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
9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, against 6.7% in Bost. Households headed by a manual worker: 14% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Bost, 1.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns
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 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.5% of residents are foreign nationals in Bost. The usual figure: 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Allier has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 96% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Bost, 14% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 99% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Bost has 45%. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 96% of compared French towns: 9.7%
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 Bost, 32% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 183 to 2,582 people: this is the 3rd youngest
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.
Every neighbor is older than Bost
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bost | 40.1 | 16% | 5% | 1.6% |
| Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 3,579 · 3.3 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Creuzier-le-Vieux 3,205 · 3.6 mi | 53.3 | 30% | 2.6% | 4.1% |
| Cusset 13,316 · 3.9 mi | 48.2 | 27% | 1.9% | 10% |
| Vichy 25,115 · 5.1 mi | 53.1 | 37% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Abrest 2,915 · 6.4 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 4.5% |
| Bellerive-sur-Allier 8,943 · 6.5 mi | 53 | 34% | 4.9% | 7.7% |
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 Bost
What is the population of Bost?
183 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (196).
How old are Bost’s residents?
The median age is 40.1, younger than 79% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bost?
5, with occasional dwellings: 5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bost?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bost?
€25,030 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.