Older than 89% of compared French towns: half of L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs is over 52.1
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, just over two in five households are headed by a retired person here. The 2023 Census put L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs’s population at 2,780, in 1,420 households. About one in six: that is how common couples with children are in L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs (17%). On households without a car, L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs sits higher than 78% of compared French towns: 18%.
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 L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs
Fewer residents than in 2012
L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs had 3,127 residents at the 2012 census and 2,780 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs’ residents are under 52.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 220 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −11% change since 2012: slower than 98% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Doubs town −1%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought −4%; 2017 to 2023, −7%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 30%, a higher share than 86% 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
■ L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs 52.1. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 10%. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
44% of households are one person living alone, a share 81% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
In L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs, 8% of households are single parents, beside 10% in the typical compared French town. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
More empty homes than 91% of compared French towns: 13%
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 typical compared French town, the share of flats is 30%; L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs has 37%. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. About one in eight: that is how common households in social housing are in L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs (12%).
Median living standard: €22,750 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.
Half of residents live in households above €22,750 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 83% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 19.0% of residents.
L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs sits above 76% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (18%)
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
In L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs, 7.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional, beside 9.4% in the typical compared French town. The share of households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
3.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 79% 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.
Here 2% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. For comparison, 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.
Below 84% of compared French towns: 37% 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
Single residents: 27%, above 62% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs
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 share of adults with no qualification tops 84% of compared French towns: 27%. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
The 10th oldest of 41 French towns of 2,755 to 2,805 people
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 La Fère (39.7), the oldest Collioure (60.8).
L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs | 52.1 | 30% | 2.1% | 3.4% |
| Bavans 3,582 · 7.3 mi | 48.9 | 26% | 0.9% | 5.1% |
| Voujeaucourt 3,174 · 8.7 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 0.7% | 6% |
| Pont-de-Roide-Vermondans 3,912 · 9.4 mi | 51.8 | 30% | 1.8% | 4.6% |
| Montbéliard 24,672 · 10.7 mi | 41.2 | 24% | 2.5% | 20% |
| Mandeure 4,612 · 10.8 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 0.9% | 7.7% |
| Valentigney 10,501 · 11.4 mi | 43.2 | 23% | 1.7% | 17% |
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 L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs
What is the population of L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs?
2,780 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (3,127).
How old are L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs’ residents?
The median age is 52.1, older than 89% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs?
35, with occasional dwellings: 2.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs?
INSEE counts 94 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 57 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs?
€22,750 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 19.0% 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 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.