Households without a car make up 5.5% in Franois, less than in 84% of compared French towns
The share of couples with children tops 72% of compared French towns: 29%. Households headed by a retired person are rarer here than in 71% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census Franois was home to 2,257 people in 980 households. Here, nearly one in ten households rent social housing (HLM).
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.
+11% since 2012, a pace 73% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +15%, and from 2017 to 2023 −4%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Doubs town −1%.
In Franois, 20% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 62% 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
■ Franois 44.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Franois’s residents are over 44.3, older than in 52% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 11% in the town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of one-person households than 68% of compared French towns, at 32%
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
Each household has 2.3 people on average. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 8.9%, fewer than in 68% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%.
Second homes: 1%, a lower share than 81% 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
Against a figure of 6.7% in the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes in Franois comes in at 5.1%. Compared with other places, flats are scarce here: 28%, fewer than in 53% of compared French towns. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 11% moved in during the last two years and 23% have stayed three decades or more.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €28,120 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 €28,120 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 72% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 8.0%.
A larger share of households headed by a manager or professional than 76% of compared French towns: 15%
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 manual worker tops 63% of compared French towns: 16%. The benchmark for households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town: 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals make up 3.3% in Franois, less than in 61% 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.
Against a figure of 6.5% in the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants in Franois comes in at 7.6%. The median compared commune in Doubs has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 58% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%.
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 80% 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
25% of residents 15 and over are single. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
38% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, a share 74% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
At 18%, the share of adults with no qualification is lower than in 57% of compared French towns. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 16th youngest 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Franois is younger than 2 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franois | 44.3 | 20% | 1% | 7.6% |
| École-Valentin 2,579 · 4.1 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 1.6% | 6.1% |
| Besançon 118,489 · 4.2 mi | 35.6 | 19% | 2.5% | 15% |
| Miserey-Salines 2,661 · 4.6 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.6% |
| Les Auxons 2,533 · 5.2 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 0.7% | 3.7% |
| Saint-Vit 5,133 · 6.2 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 1.2% | 5.8% |
| Thise 2,994 · 7.8 mi | 53.1 | 34% | 0.8% | 3.6% |
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 Franois
What is the population of Franois?
2,257 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (2,031).
How old are Franois’ residents?
The median age is 44.3, older than 52% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Franois?
10, with occasional dwellings: 1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Franois?
INSEE counts 170 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.6% of residents, and 74 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Franois?
€28,120 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 8.0% 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.