Second homes make up 67% in Les Forges, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Half of Les Forges’s residents are under 40.6, younger than in 75% of compared French towns. There were 60 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 125 residents. Households without a car: 2.5% of the total. Here a fifth of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Throughout this page, the Deux-Sèvres 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 Les Forges
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 160 second homes and occasional dwellings in Les Forges, 67% of its 230 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 80% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
A town of families
33% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 15% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Les Forges, 15% of homes are flats, fewer than in 78% of compared French towns
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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The share of flats in the typical compared French town is 30%. 7% of homes stand empty.
Les Forges changed by −4% from 2012 to 2023, behind 84% 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 median Deux-Sèvres town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −1% and the next six −3%.
In Les Forges, 17% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 84% 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
■ Les Forges 40.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Here nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%.
Les Forges: 33% of households are couples with children, above 88% 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 Deux-Sèvres median and the France median
Living alone · share
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 33% of households are one person living alone here. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a reference point, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.1 people each.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €23,740 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 €23,740 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 74% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 13% in Les Forges, more than in 70% of compared French towns
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 make up about one in three here (33%). The comparison figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4% 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 foreign nationals, more than in 88% 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.
The share of immigrants tops 80% of compared French towns: 13%. For comparison, 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.
Only 19% of residents 15 and over are single in Les Forges
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Les Forges has 42%. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 70% of compared French towns: 25%
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 nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in Les Forges. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
4th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 125 to 2,582
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.
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Les Forges
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Forges | 40.6 | 17% | 67% | 13% |
| Boivre-la-Vallée 3,024 · 5.6 mi | 42.1 | 18% | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| Rouillé 2,533 · 9.5 mi | 42.6 | 22% | 2.9% | 2% |
| Lusignan 2,544 · 10.3 mi | 51.7 | 32% | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| Vouillé 3,697 · 11.2 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 1.7% | 1.6% |
| Parthenay 10,140 · 12.6 mi | 50 | 31% | 2.8% | 7.3% |
| Saint-Maixent-l'École 7,595 · 12.8 mi | 35.5 | 21% | 2.7% | 7.6% |
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 Les Forges
What is the population of Les Forges?
125 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (130).
How old are Les Forges’ residents?
The median age is 40.6, younger than 75% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Forges?
160, with occasional dwellings: 67% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Forges?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (13%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Les Forges?
€23,740 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 9, 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.