Living alone in France: growing housing trend, Digi Mart USA News (France): Living alone is no longer merely a transitional stage but covers a wide variety of situations. The marital status and economic profiles of people living alone also differ widely, and this trend may intensify pressure on the housing market and call for a rethinking of the housing stock.
According to the latest census data from Insee, 39% of primary residences are occupied by a single person. This figure rose by nearly 14% between 2016 and 2022, compared with 5% for homes occupied by two people, while the number of homes occupied by five or more people fell by 4%.
This shift reflects a change in how people live, less structured around couple or family life, and is reshaping housing demand.
People living alone are not limited to a few well-known figures, such as the student in a studio, the urban single in a small apartment or the widow in a country house. A study by the research office Intermède and Université Gustave Eiffel, supported by Leroy Merlin Source and Bouygues Immobilier, shows that solo living corresponds to a variety of profiles, life paths, housing conditions and territories.
Living alone is now common at adult age. People in employment make up 43% of those living alone, compared with 41% retirees and 16% other inactive people, including students.
The number of men living alone is growing faster than that of women, especially between ages 25 and 59. Women still account for 56% of people living alone, due to longer life expectancy and widowhood.
Living alone does not necessarily mean a less favorable economic situation. People living alone are not more likely to be unemployed and are spread across the social spectrum, with a slight overrepresentation of managers and intermediate professions.
However, their employment is more precarious, with more fixed-term contracts, apprenticeships, temporary work and subsidized jobs.
Marital situations also vary. Nearly half are single, a quarter are widowed and one-fifth are divorced.
Some people living alone are nonetheless in a committed relationship, for example in non-cohabiting couples or multi-location arrangements. Nearly one in ten people living alone is married, in a civil partnership or in a free union, often due to professional location choices.
Conversely, being single does not always mean living alone, as shared housing, coliving and rooms in a host’s home can be lasting arrangements at all ages.
Housing conditions also differ. People living alone occupy most very small homes: nearly nine in ten dwellings under 30 square meters or with one room are occupied by one person.
However, only 11% of people living alone live in fewer than 30 square meters, while 38% live in homes of 60 to 100 square meters and 15% in homes over 100 square meters. Many remain in large homes after a separation, children leaving or the death of a spouse.
Housing type shows similar diversity. While solo living mainly goes with apartments, nearly four in ten people living alone live in houses, especially widowed, divorced or married people.
They are not only renters: nearly half are homeowners (46%), compared with 36% private renters and 16% social housing tenants.
Living alone is often seen as a transitional situation following leaving the family home, a separation or a job move. Census data partly support this: 16% of people living alone have occupied their home for less than two years, compared with 10% of people in two-person or larger households.
However, 20% of people living alone have lived in their home for more than thirty years.
Urban and rural patterns also differ. People living alone are found in rural areas, small towns and large urban areas, but are particularly numerous in cities of more than 200,000 inhabitants, more in central municipalities than in peri-urban ones.
Growth has been strongest in peri-urban belts, among people aged 25 to 59 and 60 to 74, including farmers, workers, separated people and owners of large houses. In rural areas, people living alone tend to be older, with three in ten over 75.
These trends point to new forms of solo living, including non-cohabiting couples, older people living alone in cities, working adults living alone in peri-urban areas and people alone in large homes. This diversification increases competition for small homes, which remain too few for demand, especially in cities but also in peri-urban areas.
In a difficult housing market, building more is no longer enough; the stock and its use must also respond to diverse situations. This means improving access to affordable housing for people living alone on a single reference income, supporting older people to stay at home, adapting housing to an aging population, developing shared housing and considering the underoccupation of homes that have become too large for solo occupants.
