Older than 99% of compared French towns: half of Bandol is over 61.1
The share of households headed by a retired person is 51%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Census day 2023: 8,267 residents and 4,470 households in Bandol. Three quarters of homes are flats. Lower than in 97% of compared French towns: 2.7% of homes stand empty.
Throughout this page, the Var 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 Bandol
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 7,170 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bandol, 60% of its 11,960 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 14% 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 Bandol’s residents are under 61.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 43% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
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 60%
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 eight, against 11% in the median compared French town. At 5.2%, the share of households in social housing is lower than in 85% of compared French towns. On average, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. In Bandol, 13% of households have no car.
Since 2012, Bandol has grown +8%, faster than 65% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +10%; from 2017 to 2023, −2%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 99% of compared French towns: 43%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bandol 61.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Here 6.3% of residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. 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: Var 51.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Bandol ranks below 98% of compared French towns on couples with children: 12%
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 Var median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 1.8 people. One-person households are more common here than in 85% of compared French towns. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households: 8.9%, below two thirds of compared French towns.
A typical living standard of €29,540 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 €29,540 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 82% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 13.0% of residents.
A lower share of households headed by a manual worker than 97% of compared French towns, at 4.6%
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
9.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 51% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of foreign nationals than 63% of compared French towns: 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.
The median compared commune in Var has 6.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 56% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for foreign nationals is 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Here, 5.8% of residents are immigrants.
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 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
The share of married residents tops nearly two thirds of compared French towns: 45%. As a reference point, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of graduates of higher education than 68% of compared French towns, at 35%
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 16%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (8,130 to 8,414 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 35.8 in Mazingarbe to 63.7 in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie.
Every neighbor is younger than Bandol
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bandol | 61.1 | 43% | 60% | 5.8% |
| Sanary-sur-Mer 18,538 · 2.8 mi | 59.7 | 42% | 35% | 5.3% |
| Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer 11,658 · 3.4 mi | 55.2 | 37% | 46% | 4.6% |
| La Cadière-d'Azur 5,739 · 4 mi | 53.5 | 30% | 26% | 2.7% |
| Le Castellet 6,040 · 4.7 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 18% | 3.3% |
| Le Beausset 10,219 · 4.8 mi | 48.6 | 26% | 9.1% | 5.2% |
| Six-Fours-les-Plages 37,109 · 5.3 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 29% | 4.5% |
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 Bandol
What is the population of Bandol?
8,267 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (7,622).
How old are Bandol’s residents?
The median age is 61.1, older than 99% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 43% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bandol?
7,170, with occasional dwellings: 60% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bandol?
INSEE counts 480 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.8% of residents, and 260 foreign nationals (3.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bandol?
€29,540 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.0% 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.