9.5% of households are couples with children, below 99% of compared French towns
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 5.7% in Cos. At the 2023 Census Cos was home to 350 people in 180 households. Empty homes: 3.3% of the total. The town has more second homes than 86% of compared French towns, at 8.6%.
Throughout this page, the Ariège 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 Cos
Fewer residents than in 2012
Cos had 405 residents at the 2012 census and 350 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Cos’ residents are under 53.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 7.5% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Cos changed by −14% from 2012 to 2023, behind 99% 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, +2% in Ariège. Here the change came as −3% to 2017, then −11% to 2023.
A median age of 53.5: Cos is older than 92% 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
■ Cos 53.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Cos has 32%.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 21%
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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 1.9 people in the average household. 36% of households are one person living alone, more than in 54% of compared French towns. For single-parent households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 10%.
Fewer flats than 91% of compared French towns: 7.8%
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 without a car: 6.9% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 7.6% moved in during the last two years and 29% have stayed three decades or more.
The median resident lives on €28,350 a year per consumption unit
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €28,350 a year: higher than in 74% of compared French towns.
Above 69% of compared French towns: 13% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
On households headed by a manual worker, Cos sits lower than 56% of compared French towns: 13%. As a yardstick, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. Locally, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
9.8% of residents are immigrants, a share 70% 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.
The share of foreign nationals is 6.7%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 70% 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.
A lower share of single residents than 86% of compared French towns, at 21%
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
Married residents make up 45%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
6.4% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 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
Two in five adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification (typical compared French town: 30%). The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
41 French towns of 350 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Cos
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cos | 53.5 | 32% | 8.6% | 9.8% |
| Foix 9,934 · 2 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 5.9 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 8.2 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 9 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 9.9 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 10.1 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 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 Cos
What is the population of Cos?
350 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (405).
How old are Cos’ residents?
The median age is 53.5, older than 92% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cos?
18, with occasional dwellings: 8.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cos?
INSEE counts 34 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.8% of residents, and 23 foreign nationals (6.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cos?
€28,350 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 October 30, 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.