Only 0.9% of homes are flats in Aouste
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Aouste’s population at 196, in 86 households. On the census count, one in ten homes are second homes. Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Aouste comes in at 24%.
Throughout this page, the Ardennes 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 Aouste
Empty homes
The census found 18 homes empty (16%): 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 −3% since 2012 leaves Aouste behind 83% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −9% in Ardennes.
26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 72% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Aouste 45.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Aouste is 45.6, higher than in 61% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 11% here.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
29% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 79% 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 Ardennes median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.3 people. Higher than in 73% of compared French towns: 29% of households are couples with children. Set beside that, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. The share of single-parent households tops three quarters of compared French towns: 12%.
In Aouste, 16% of homes stand empty, more than in 97% 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
Turnover: 12% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 23% have lived in their home 30 years or more. Aouste has fewer households without a car than 56% of compared French towns, at 9.6%. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
€24,090 a year: the median standard of living
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 Aouste is €24,090 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 67% of compared French towns: 29%
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
Where nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, Aouste has 12%. The comparison figure for households headed by a retired person is 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.1% of residents are immigrants, below 90% 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.
By its share of foreign nationals (1.6%), Aouste is below 85% of compared French towns. On average, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Ardennes has 6.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 90% 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.
Single residents make up 31% in Aouste, more than in 84% 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
46% of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Only 19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Aouste
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
By its share of adults with no qualification (27%), Aouste is above 84% of compared French towns. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (196 to 2,582 people), the 21st 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Among its 4 nearest neighbors, 2 are older than Aouste
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aouste | 45.6 | 26% | 9.7% | 2.1% |
| Saint-Michel 3,199 · 11.5 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
| Hirson 8,469 · 13.3 mi | 43.6 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.4% |
| Anor 3,099 · 16.2 mi | 41.3 | 21% | 3% | 6.6% |
| Revin 5,716 · 17.3 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 3% | 12% |
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 Aouste
What is the population of Aouste?
196 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (203).
How old are Aouste’s residents?
The median age is 45.6, older than 61% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Aouste?
11, with occasional dwellings: 9.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Aouste?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Aouste?
€24,090 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.