Only 2.4% of households have no car in Petosse
The share of flats is 1.9%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in four: 25% of households are headed by a manual worker. Couples with children are more common here than in 86% of compared French towns. 688 residents in 290 households: that is Petosse at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Vendée 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.
Petosse grew +8% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 63% 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
The years 2012 to 2017 brought +11%; 2017 to 2023, −3%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Vendée town +9%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 18%, a lower share than 76% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Petosse 42.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Petosse’s residents are under 42.8, younger than in three fifths of compared French towns. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Across Petosse, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vendée 50.9%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of single-parent households than 92% of compared French towns, at 6.8%
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 Vendée median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2.4 people on average. As a reference point, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Petosse has fewer one-person households than 84% of compared French towns, at 28%.
Petosse sits below 90% of compared French towns for households in social housing (4%)
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
Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 3%. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. In the last two years, one in ten households moved in; at the other end, 16% have stayed 30 years or more. Empty homes are rarer here than in 54% of compared French towns.
A typical living standard of €24,150 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.
At €24,150 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
Only 29% of households are headed by a retired person in Petosse
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
8.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional. In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals make up 5.5% in Petosse, more than in 60% of compared French towns
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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 58% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Vendée has 2.1%. In Petosse, 5.6% of residents are immigrants. Typically, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Petosse sits above 74% of compared French towns for married residents (46%)
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
Locally, just over a quarter of residents 15 and over are single. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Graduates of higher education make up 23% in Petosse, less than in 75% 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 census found that 18% of adults out of school have no qualification in Petosse. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 688 to 2,582 people, the 10th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
A younger town than 4 of the 6 around it: Petosse
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petosse | 42.8 | 18% | 3% | 5.6% |
| Fontenay-le-Comte 14,059 · 5.1 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 3.1% | 7.5% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Hermine 3,611 · 9.1 mi | 42.4 | 22% | 5.2% | 3.1% |
| Luçon 9,417 · 12.5 mi | 56.2 | 36% | 4.2% | 3% |
| Marans 4,476 · 12.6 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 4.1% | 2.6% |
| La Châtaigneraie 2,600 · 13.9 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 3.1% | 4.5% |
| Saint-Jean-de-Liversay 3,063 · 14.7 mi | 42.2 | 20% | 5.9% | 1.7% |
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 Petosse
What is the population of Petosse?
688 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (638).
How old are Petosse’s residents?
The median age is 42.8, younger than 60% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Petosse?
10, with occasional dwellings: 3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Petosse?
INSEE counts 38 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.6% of residents, and 38 foreign nationals (5.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Petosse?
€24,150 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.