A median age of 57: Léon is older than 96% of compared French towns
Just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, against 1.3% in Léon. In 2023, the Census found 2,306 residents here, living in 1,210 households. Put another way, about one in six: 16% of households are couples with children. Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 78% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Landes 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 Léon
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,440 second homes and occasional dwellings in Léon, 53% of its 2,740 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 96% 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 Léon’s residents are under 57 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Léon had 1,969 residents at the 2012 census and 2,306 in 2023, up 17%: faster growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 98% of compared French towns, at 53%
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
One in ten homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). Here, 3% of homes stand empty. Lower than in 68% of compared French towns: 7.8% of households have no car. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
+17% since 2012, a pace 86% of compared French towns didn’t match
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 compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Landes town +9%. The change was −1% from 2012 to 2017 and +19% from 2017 to 2023.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 5.3%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Léon 57. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 35% in Léon and 22% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Landes 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Léon sits below 98% of compared French towns for single-parent households (5.4%)
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 Landes median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, 39% of households are one person living alone in Léon. Typically, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Households average 1.9 people.
At the median, €27,200 a year to live on
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 €27,200 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 63% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 9.0%.
Above 96% of compared French towns: 48% of households are headed by a retired person
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
Here, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. 5.8% of Léon’s households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 48% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 60% of compared French towns: 5.3%
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.
Across Léon, 4% of residents are foreign nationals. Typically, 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.
Léon sits below 98% of compared French towns for single residents (18%)
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 share of married residents tops 80% of compared French towns: 47%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Only 14% of adults out of school have no qualification in Léon
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 figure for graduates of higher education is 33% in Léon and 30% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 2,306 to 2,582 people
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.
No nearby town is as old as Léon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
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 Léon
What is the population of Léon?
2,306 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 17% more than in 2012 (1,969).
How old are Léon’s residents?
The median age is 57, older than 96% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Léon?
1,440, with occasional dwellings: 53% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Léon?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.3% of residents, and 92 foreign nationals (4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Léon?
€27,200 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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.