12% of homes stand empty, more than in 88% of compared French towns
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 18% of households are headed by a manual worker in Rocroi. Census figures put single-parent households at 8.1% locally. With a median age of 46.4, Rocroi is older than 66% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 2,270 people lived in the town, in 1,040 households.
Throughout this page, the Ardennes 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 Rocroi
Fewer residents than in 2012
Rocroi had 2,409 residents at the 2012 census and 2,270 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 150 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 90% of compared French towns grew faster than Rocroi: −6%
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 first five years brought −3%; the six to 2023, −3%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ardennes town −9%.
A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 67% of compared French towns: 9.8%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Rocroi 46.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 22% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Rocroi comes in at 24%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 38%, a higher share than 60% of compared French towns
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 Ardennes median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.1 people. As a yardstick, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Rocroi has fewer couples with children than nearly three fifths of compared French towns, at 24%.
A larger share of households without a car than 67% of compared French towns: 14%
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
Where 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town, Rocroi has 3.6%. The usual figure: 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town. Locally, nearly a quarter of homes are flats. This Ardennes town has more households in social housing than 56% of compared French towns, at 14%.
Median living standard: €22,820 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.
Half of Rocroi’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,820 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 83% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 23.0% of residents.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 71% of compared French towns: 6.7%
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
Households headed by a retired person: a third of the total. Across the comparison, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
13% of residents are immigrants, a share 80% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 share of foreign nationals tops 85% of compared French towns: 11%. The median compared commune in Ardennes has 6.7%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 80% of compared French towns. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
39% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 74% of compared French towns
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 28% of residents 15 and over are single here. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 91% of compared French towns, at 18%
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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Rocroi comes in at 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (2,270 to 2,582 people), the 18th 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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Nearby, 3 of 6 towns have older populations than Rocroi
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocroi | 46.4 | 24% | 3.6% | 13% |
| Revin 5,716 · 5.1 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 3% | 12% |
| Fumay 3,086 · 8.8 mi | 52.3 | 29% | 4.2% | 15% |
| Bogny-sur-Meuse 4,889 · 11.4 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 1.5% | 4.3% |
| Nouzonville 5,523 · 12.3 mi | 46 | 23% | 0.9% | 6.2% |
| Charleville-Mézières 45,560 · 13.9 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 2.3% | 11% |
| Villers-Semeuse 3,615 · 15.8 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 0.5% | 5.8% |
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 Rocroi
What is the population of Rocroi?
2,270 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (2,409).
How old are Rocroi’s residents?
The median age is 46.4, older than 66% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Rocroi?
45, with occasional dwellings: 3.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Rocroi?
INSEE counts 290 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 260 foreign nationals (11%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Rocroi?
€22,820 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 23.0% 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.