In Hostens, 4.2% of households have no car, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns
By its share of flats (7.8%), Hostens is below 91% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 1,554 people lived here, in 660 households. On the census count, 27% of households are headed by a manual worker. Compared with other places, couples with children are common here: 32%, more than in 83% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Gironde 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 Hostens
One home in nine is a second home
The census counted 89 second homes and occasional dwellings in Hostens, 11% of its 810 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 83% 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.
Second homes: 11%, a higher share than 89% 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
Here 5.2% of households rent social housing (HLM), where the figure in the typical compared French town is 12%. Hostens has more empty homes than 67% of compared French towns, at 8.4%. Elsewhere, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 10% moved in during the last two years and 14% have stayed three decades or more.
Growth of +13% since 2012 puts Hostens ahead of 76% 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, +16% in Gironde. Here the change came as −4% to 2017, then +17% to 2023.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 77% of compared French towns: 18%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Hostens 42.3. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 42.3, Hostens is younger than 64% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 15 to 24 make up about one in 11 here (9%).
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%.
26% of households are one person living alone, below 91% 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 Gironde median and the France median
Living alone · share
Compared with 10% in the typical compared French town, 14% of households are single parents here. A household here holds 2.4 people on average. The usual figure: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €25,660 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 €25,660 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 53% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 80% of compared French towns, at 5.6%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; Hostens has 29%. As a yardstick, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 81% of compared French towns, at 3.1%
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Hostens comes in at 3%. The median compared commune in Gironde has 5.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer single residents than 79% of compared French towns: 22%
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
For Hostens, the census puts married residents at 44%. The wider picture: a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification make up 16% in Hostens, less than in 68% 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
In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Hostens, 26%. The wider picture: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,554 to 2,582 people), the 10th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Around Hostens, 2 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostens | 42.3 | 18% | 11% | 3.1% |
| Belin-Béliet 6,275 · 6.8 mi | 41.1 | 17% | 2.5% | 4.1% |
| Le Barp 5,806 · 10 mi | 41.9 | 16% | 1.9% | 4.1% |
| Saucats 3,548 · 11.5 mi | 38.7 | 14% | 1.1% | 3% |
| Salles 8,208 · 11.5 mi | 43 | 18% | 5.7% | 3.5% |
| La Brède 4,386 · 14.4 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 1.2% | 3.7% |
| Saint-Selve 3,746 · 14.6 mi | 36.8 | 10% | 1.1% | 2.8% |
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 Hostens
What is the population of Hostens?
1,554 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% more than in 2012 (1,379).
How old are Hostens’ residents?
The median age is 42.3, younger than 64% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Hostens?
89, with occasional dwellings: 11% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Hostens?
INSEE counts 49 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.1% of residents, and 46 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Hostens?
€25,660 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.