Households headed by a manager or professional make up 1.8% in Costaros, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Households in social housing make up 3%, against 12% in the typical compared French town. Costaros had 553 residents in 270 households at the 2023 Census. In Costaros, 8.9% of homes are second homes. More one-person households than in 79% of compared French towns: 43%.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Loire 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 Costaros
Fewer residents than in 2012
Costaros had 632 residents at the 2012 census and 553 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 68 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 98% of compared French towns: Costaros changed by −13% since 2012
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 change was −14% from 2012 to 2017 and +2% from 2017 to 2023.
Older than 82% of compared French towns: half of Costaros is over 49.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Costaros 49.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over; in Costaros, 27%. Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24, a higher share than in 73% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Costaros ranks below 81% of compared French towns on couples with children: 18%
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 Haute-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.1 people share a household. 11% of households are single parents, more than in 66% of compared French towns. Typically, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 18%
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
9.7% of households moved in less than two years ago; 22% have been in their home 30 years or more. More households without a car than in 62% of compared French towns: 13%. In the typical compared French town, empty homes come to 6.7%.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €23,410 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €23,410 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 78% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 65% of compared French towns: 35%
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
For Costaros, the census puts households headed by a manual worker at 15%. 1.8% of Costaros’ households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 35% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 95% of compared French towns: 1.6% of residents are immigrants
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.
Foreign nationals: 1.1% here and 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.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Costaros, 26% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 57% 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
Here, 43% of residents 15 and over are married. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
In Costaros, 18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 92% 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
The share of adults with no qualification is 23%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 553 to 2,582 people, the 14th 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.
1 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Costaros
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costaros | 49.8 | 27% | 8.9% | 1.6% |
| Coubon 3,140 · 8.4 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 4.5% | 2% |
| Vals-près-le-Puy 3,395 · 9.4 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 7.7% |
| Le Puy-en-Velay 18,540 · 10.2 mi | 44.6 | 26% | 5.9% | 12% |
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel 3,585 · 10.6 mi | 47 | 25% | 2.4% | 6.5% |
| Brives-Charensac 4,244 · 11.3 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.3% | 5.7% |
| Saint-Germain-Laprade 3,432 · 11.6 mi | 47.9 | 23% | 3.7% | 2.2% |
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 Costaros
What is the population of Costaros?
553 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (632).
How old are Costaros’ residents?
The median age is 49.8, older than 82% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Costaros?
33, with occasional dwellings: 8.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Costaros?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Costaros?
€23,410 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 9, 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.