Half of Bulle is under 37.2, younger than 91% of compared French towns
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 2.2% of households have no car here. In 2023, the Census found 505 residents in Bulle, living in 210 households. Locally, 29% of households are one person living alone. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 Bulle
Growing fast
Bulle had 402 residents at the 2012 census and 505 in 2023, up 26%: faster growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A young town
Half of Bulle’s residents are under 37.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 20% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Faster growth than 95% of compared French towns: Bulle changed by +26% since 2012
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 change was +8% from 2012 to 2017 and +17% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Doubs town −1%.
14% of residents are 65 or over, below 93% 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
■ Bulle 37.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 10%. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 116 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 4.7%, a lower share than 99% 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 Doubs median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of couples with children tops 88% of compared French towns: 33%. To put it in context, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. There are 2.4 people in the average household.
A lower share of flats than 55% of compared French towns, at 27%
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 17% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 10% (under two years). Empty homes are more common here than in just over half of compared French towns. There is little gap on second homes: 2.1%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €34,320 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 €34,320 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 95% of compared French towns.
20% of households are headed by a retired person, below 95% 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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, against 27% in Bulle. The census found that 7% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the town. In the typical compared French town, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 79% of compared French towns: 3.3%
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 figure for foreign nationals is 1.6% in Bulle and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Doubs has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 79% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Bulle, 19% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 94% 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
Married residents come to 42% in Bulle, about four in ten. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Bulle sits below 96% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (9.9%)
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
Lower than in 53% of compared French towns: 29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
Among 41 French towns of 505 to 2,582 people, the 2nd youngest
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.
Every neighbor is older than Bulle
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulle | 37.2 | 14% | 2.1% | 3.3% |
| Pontarlier 18,067 · 6.2 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 3.5% | 15% |
| Doubs 3,335 · 6.4 mi | 42.6 | 22% | 2.3% | 9.3% |
| Ornans 4,419 · 15.1 mi | 48.5 | 28% | 5.8% | 5.3% |
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 Bulle
What is the population of Bulle?
505 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% more than in 2012 (402).
How old are Bulle’s residents?
The median age is 37.2, younger than 91% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bulle?
5, with occasional dwellings: 2.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bulle?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.3% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bulle?
€34,320 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.