44% of homes are second homes, more than in 97% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person; in Bellefosse, 14%. The town had 170 residents in 70 households at the 2023 census. Census figures put empty homes at 2.3% in the town. With a median age of 47.8, Bellefosse is older than nearly three quarters of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Bas-Rhin 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 Bellefosse
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 58 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bellefosse, 44% of its 130 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 83% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Bellefosse had 135 residents at the 2012 census and 170 in 2023, up 26%: faster growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 5.7% of households have no car in Bellefosse
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
Long tenure is the mark of 19% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 13% (under two years). Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, households without a car come to 11%. The share of flats trails 75% of compared French towns: 16%.
A +26% change since 2012: faster than 95% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Bas-Rhin town +6%. The first five years brought +11%; the six to 2023, +13%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 62% of compared French towns: 24%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bellefosse 47.8. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 12% in Bellefosse and 11% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Bas-Rhin 51.5%, France 51.8%.
Only 7.1% of households are single parents in Bellefosse
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 Bas-Rhin median and the France median
Living alone · share
With one-person households at 29%, Bellefosse is behind 83% of compared French towns on that count. Couples with children make up about one in five here (21%). By way of comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €31,530 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 €31,530 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 90% of compared French towns.
Bellefosse sits above 88% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (21%)
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
14% of households are headed by a manager or professional (typical compared French town: 9.4%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.2% of residents are immigrants, below 98% 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.
Here 0.6% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. The usual figure: 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
In Bellefosse, 55% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 99% 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
The share of single residents trails 79% of compared French towns: 22%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Bellefosse sits above 86% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (43%)
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
In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Bellefosse, 13%. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Bellefosse is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellefosse | 47.8 | 24% | 44% | 1.2% |
| La Broque 2,625 · 4.7 mi | 46.6 | 23% | 7.5% | 6.9% |
| Barr 7,057 · 10.7 mi | 44 | 20% | 2.5% | 9% |
| Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 4,851 · 11 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Scherwiller 3,099 · 12.2 mi | 47.5 | 22% | 1.6% | 4.5% |
| Châtenois 4,294 · 12.3 mi | 44.4 | 20% | 1.5% | 3.9% |
| Obernai 12,587 · 13.1 mi | 44.8 | 24% | 4.2% | 10% |
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 Bellefosse
What is the population of Bellefosse?
170 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% more than in 2012 (135).
How old are Bellefosse’s residents?
The median age is 47.8, older than 74% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bellefosse?
58, with occasional dwellings: 44% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bellefosse?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.2% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bellefosse?
€31,530 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.