Households headed by a manual worker make up 25% in Fesches-le-Châtel, more than in 95% of compared French towns
The share of households in social housing trails 85% of compared French towns: 5.4%. The census found that 0.8% of homes are second homes in Fesches-le-Châtel. Higher than in 66% of compared French towns: 39% of households are one person living alone. The town had 2,129 residents in 1,030 households at the 2023 Census.
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 Fesches-le-Châtel
Fewer residents than in 2012
Fesches-le-Châtel had 2,261 residents at the 2012 census and 2,129 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Fesches-le-Châtel has changed by −6%, slower than 90% 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 Doubs town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −3% and the next six −3%.
Older than 57% of compared French towns: half of Fesches-le-Châtel is over 45.1
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Fesches-le-Châtel 45.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.7% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in five: 21% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Below 64% of compared French towns: 22% of households are couples with children
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 typical household size is 2.1 people. Few places have as many single-parent households: 11% here, more than in just over two thirds of compared French towns. Couples with children make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
In Fesches-le-Châtel, 8.8% of homes stand empty, more than in 71% 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
In the last two years, 9.2% of households moved in; at the other end, 23% have stayed 30 years or more. More flats than in 53% of compared French towns: 32%. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Here one in ten households have no car, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €26,330 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 €26,330 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 54% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 11.0% of residents are below the poverty line.
Below 69% of compared French towns: 6.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
31% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.6% of Fesches-le-Châtel’s residents are immigrants
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 median compared commune in Doubs has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 57% of compared French towns. Foreign nationals make up about one in 27 here (3.7%).
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 73% of compared French towns: 39% of residents 15 and over are married
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
26% of residents 15 and over are single. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Graduates of higher education: 20%, a lower share than 85% 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
Here 25% of adults out of school have no qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 19%. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 2,129 to 2,582 people: this is the 20th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Older than Fesches-le-Châtel: 2 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fesches-le-Châtel | 45.1 | 21% | 0.8% | 5.6% |
| Étupes 3,689 · 2.5 mi | 43.4 | 21% | 0.9% | 13% |
| Beaucourt 4,966 · 2.5 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1.3% | 8.9% |
| Grandvillars 2,947 · 3.1 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 0.8% | 7.4% |
| Vieux-Charmont 2,786 · 3.4 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 1.8% | 10% |
| Sochaux 3,721 · 3.6 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1.9% | 22% |
| Châtenois-les-Forges 2,608 · 3.7 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 0.6% | 3.9% |
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 Fesches-le-Châtel
What is the population of Fesches-le-Châtel?
2,129 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (2,261).
How old are Fesches-le-Châtel’s residents?
The median age is 45.1, older than 57% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fesches-le-Châtel?
9, with occasional dwellings: 0.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fesches-le-Châtel?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.6% of residents, and 78 foreign nationals (3.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fesches-le-Châtel?
€26,330 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 11.0% 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.