Older than 99% of compared French towns: half of Josat is over 62.3
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 60% in Josat. On couples with children, Josat sits lower than 74% of compared French towns: 20%. The 2023 Census counted 84 residents in 48 households. Empty homes account for 8.5%.
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 Josat
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 39 second homes and occasional dwellings in Josat, 41% of its 95 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Josat’s residents are under 62.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 42% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 16% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Josat’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 56% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 96% of compared French towns, at 41%
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
Without a car: one household in 10, against 11% in the median compared French town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Josat changed by +2% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 60% 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
More residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns: 42%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Josat 62.3. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 3.5%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Loire 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 94% of compared French towns: 50% of households are one person living alone
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
A household here holds 1.7 people on average. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%.
The largest group of households: retired (60%)
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
Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.9% of Josat’s 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.
The median compared commune in Haute-Loire has 3.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 55% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up about one in 17 here (5.9%). Foreign nationals make up 4.7%, close to the figure 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.
A smaller share of single residents than 91% of compared French towns: 20%
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: 35%; in a PACS: 2.5%; against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town, with 17% widowed. By way of comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Josat ranks below 99% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 13%
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
28% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (84 to 2,582 people), the 2nd 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Josat is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josat | 62.3 | 42% | 41% | 5.9% |
| Langeac 3,499 · 9.8 mi | 56.6 | 38% | 12% | 6.1% |
| Brioude 6,527 · 12.5 mi | 51.8 | 32% | 5.3% | 7.5% |
| Polignac 2,819 · 15.7 mi | 48.5 | 26% | 6.3% | 1.8% |
| Espaly-Saint-Marcel 3,585 · 16.9 mi | 47 | 25% | 2.4% | 6.5% |
| Chadrac 2,542 · 17.5 mi | 53.1 | 32% | 1.8% | 8.7% |
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 Josat
What is the population of Josat?
84 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (82).
How old are Josat’s residents?
The median age is 62.3, older than 99% of compared French towns. 5.9% are under 18 and 42% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Josat?
39, with occasional dwellings: 41% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Josat?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.9% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (4.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.