In Fos, 34% of homes are second homes, more than in 95% of compared French towns
1.6% of households have no car, against 11% in the typical compared French town. For Fos, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 17%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The town’s 62 households held 133 residents at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Hérault 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 Fos
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 31 second homes and occasional dwellings in Fos, 34% of its 93 homes: higher than in 95% 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 ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Below 92% of compared French towns: 7.4% of homes are flats
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
14% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 14% moved in within the last two years. Empty homes are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Fos outgrew 81% of compared French towns: +15%
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 Hérault town changed +13% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −8% and the next six +24%.
Fos is older than 72% of compared French towns: a median age of 47.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Fos 47.5. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 8.8% in Fos. Residents aged 65 and over make up about one in four here (23%).
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Hérault 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Fos: 17% of households are single parents, above 98% 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 Hérault median and the France median
Living alone · share
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 33% of households are one person living alone here. On couples with children, Fos sits lower than 86% of compared French towns: 17%. Against that, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Each household has 2.2 people on average.
€20,640 a year: the median standard of living
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 €20,640 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 95% of compared French towns.
Above 96% of compared French towns: 25% of households are headed by a manual worker
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 manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.9% of residents in Fos 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 Hérault has 6.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 55% of compared French towns. About one in 27: that is how common foreign nationals are in Fos (3.7%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
30% of residents 15 and over are single, a share 77% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Census figures put married residents at 43% in Fos. As a yardstick, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 94% of compared French towns: 17%
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
Adults with no qualification: 27% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
15th highest median age among 41 French towns of 133 to 2,582
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.
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Fos
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fos | 47.5 | 23% | 34% | 5.9% |
| Bédarieux 5,804 · 5.4 mi | 52.4 | 31% | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Magalas 3,582 · 6.7 mi | 46.8 | 26% | 18% | 6.4% |
| Caux 2,718 · 7.2 mi | 52 | 28% | 18% | 8% |
| Murviel-lès-Béziers 3,000 · 10.1 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 7.6% | 6.4% |
| Clermont-l'Hérault 9,461 · 10.2 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 3.9% | 8.3% |
| Servian 5,517 · 10.2 mi | 43.5 | 21% | 5.9% | 6.5% |
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 Fos
What is the population of Fos?
133 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% more than in 2012 (116).
How old are Fos’ residents?
The median age is 47.5, older than 72% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fos?
31, with occasional dwellings: 34% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fos?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.9% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (3.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fos?
€20,640 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.