3.8% of households rent social housing (HLM), below 91% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Arbouans comes in at 5.6%. Residents aged 65 and over account for 30%. Just over a fifth of households are couples with children, fewer than in 68% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 876 residents here, living in 440 households.
Throughout this page, the Doubs 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 Arbouans
Fewer residents than in 2012
Arbouans had 966 residents at the 2012 census and 876 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −9% since 2012 leaves Arbouans behind 96% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −1% for the median Doubs town, the change came in two steps: −2% from 2012 to 2017, then −7% to 2023.
Arbouans is older than 74% of compared French towns: a median age of 47.9
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Arbouans 47.9. The median compared French town: 44.
For Arbouans, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 10%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 76% of compared French towns, at 42%
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 Doubs median and the France median
Living alone · share
By its share of single-parent households (7.7%), Arbouans is below 83% of compared French towns. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Average household size: 2 people.
Arbouans: 9.2% of homes stand empty, above 74% 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
Car-free households: one in 10, where the median compared French town has 11%. Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 1.1% of homes are second homes, or about one in 91. Higher than in 52% of compared French towns: 31% of homes are flats.
A median of €25,020 a year per consumption unit
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 €25,020 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 60% of compared French towns.
Arbouans sits above 83% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (20%)
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
The share of households headed by a retired person is 38%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
9.6% of residents are immigrants, a share 69% 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.
For Arbouans, the census puts foreign nationals at 3.9%. To put it in context, 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.
47% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 78% 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
Single residents account for 26%. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 80% of compared French towns
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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 22% in Arbouans. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
41 French towns of 876 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Arbouans
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbouans | 47.9 | 30% | 1.1% | 9.6% |
| Exincourt 3,277 · 1.1 mi | 46.7 | 27% | 0.8% | 10% |
| Montbéliard 24,672 · 1.5 mi | 41.2 | 24% | 2.5% | 20% |
| Audincourt 14,071 · 1.7 mi | 41 | 21% | 1.7% | 19% |
| Valentigney 10,501 · 1.9 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 1.7% | 17% |
| Sochaux 3,721 · 2.1 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1.9% | 22% |
| Voujeaucourt 3,174 · 2.3 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 0.7% | 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 Arbouans
What is the population of Arbouans?
876 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (966).
How old are Arbouans’ residents?
The median age is 47.9, older than 74% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arbouans?
6, with occasional dwellings: 1.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arbouans?
INSEE counts 84 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.6% of residents, and 34 foreign nationals (3.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arbouans?
€25,020 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.