32% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 94% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Ostwald has 14%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 13,946, in 6,150 households. 13% of residents are 15 to 24. This Bas-Rhin town has fewer households headed by a retired person than 72% of compared French towns, at 28%.
Throughout this page, the Bas-Rhin 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 Ostwald
Immigrants
INSEE counts 2,200 immigrants in Ostwald (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 16% of residents, against 8.5% for the median compared commune in Bas-Rhin. 9.9% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Social housing
32% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 21% rent privately and 46% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Ostwald had 11,682 residents at the 2012 census and 13,946 in 2023, up 19%: faster growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Ostwald has grown +19%, faster than 89% 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 median Bas-Rhin town changed +6% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +8% and the next six +11%.
Ostwald is younger than 77% of compared French towns: a median age of 40.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ostwald 40.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Ostwald has 19%.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Bas-Rhin 51.5%, France 51.8%.
24% of households are couples with children, below 57% 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 Bas-Rhin median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2.2 people. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. Here, just over a third of households are one person living alone.
A larger share of flats than 88% of compared French towns: 67%
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
Second homes: 0.9% here and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. On average, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. In Ostwald, 18% of households have no car. 4.7% of homes stand empty, fewer than in 79% of compared French towns.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,170 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,170 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 69% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 20.0%.
In Ostwald, 15% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 76% of compared French towns
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, Ostwald sits higher than 53% of compared French towns: 14%. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% 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).
A higher share of immigrants than 87% of compared French towns, at 16%
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 tops just over four fifths of compared French towns: 9.9%. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
More single residents than 77% of compared French towns: 30%
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 census found that 44% of residents 15 and over are married in Ostwald. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 35%, a higher share than 66% 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
By its share of adults with no qualification (17%), Ostwald is below 62% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
16th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 13,527 to 14,382
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Fleury-Mérogis is the youngest (30.2); Douarnenez the oldest (55.6).
Of the 6 towns nearest Ostwald, 4 are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ostwald | 40.4 | 19% | 0.9% | 16% |
| Lingolsheim 20,826 · 1.2 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 1.6% | 18% |
| Illkirch-Graffenstaden 27,872 · 1.5 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 3.6% | 15% |
| Eckbolsheim 7,157 · 2.4 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 1.4% | 13% |
| Strasbourg 293,771 · 2.6 mi | 33.2 | 15% | 4.9% | 24% |
| Geispolsheim 7,919 · 3.2 mi | 43.7 | 22% | 1.1% | 9.8% |
| Wolfisheim 4,217 · 3.3 mi | 43.7 | 22% | 1.3% | 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 Ostwald
What is the population of Ostwald?
13,946 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% more than in 2012 (11,682).
How old are Ostwald’s residents?
The median age is 40.4, younger than 77% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ostwald?
58, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ostwald?
INSEE counts 2,210 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 16% of residents, and 1,390 foreign nationals (9.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ostwald?
€24,170 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 20.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.