Insee Première · April 2025 · n° 2047

In 2022, half of social housing tenants were aged over 53

In 2022, 4.6 million households, representing 10.5 million people, were social housing tenants, accounting for 16% of households living in ordinary housing in France. This proportion was much higher in certain intercommunal areas, and could sometimes exceed 40%, especially in the Hauts-de-France and Île-de-France regions.
34% of households living in social housing were monetary poor in 2022, an increase of 5 percentage points in six years. In the priority neighbourhoods, 54% of social housing was occupied by the lowest-income 20% of households.
Social housing tenants moved less often than those in the private housing sector: 31% had lived in their home for over a decade, compared with only 12% in the private sector. They were also older: half of social housing households were over 53, compared with 42 in the private sector. In addition, single-parent families were over-represented in social housing. Finally, 65% of social housing households received labour income (versus 75% in the private sector), and 71% received social benefits (versus 52%).