Couples with children make up 43% in Le Bélieu, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Le Bélieu has 35%. Census day 2023: 512 residents and 200 households locally. In Le Bélieu, 2.5% of households have no car. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 7.2%, fewer than in 96% 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 Le Bélieu
A town of families
43% of households are couples with children and 5% single parents with children; 27% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Le Bélieu had 346 residents at the 2012 census and 512 in 2023, up 48%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A young town
Half of Le Bélieu’s residents are under 36.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are under 15 and 11% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +48% change since 2012: faster than 99% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +30%, then +14% to 2023. Over those years, the median Doubs town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%.
Half of Le Bélieu is under 36.3, younger than 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
■ Le Bélieu 36.3. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 65 or over, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of one-person households than 99% of compared French towns, at 20%
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
There are 2.6 people in the average household. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 5%, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Empty homes make up 3.3% in Le Bélieu, less than in 94% 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
With second homes at 5.1%, Le Bélieu is ahead of 77% of compared French towns on that count. Here, 3% of households rent social housing (HLM). At 11%, the share of flats is lower than in 85% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A median of €40,350 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 €40,350 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 99% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns: 2.5%
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
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Le Bélieu comes in at 20%. The usual figure: nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Le Bélieu ranks below 72% of compared French towns on immigrants: 4.1%
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 3.3% of residents are foreign nationals in Le Bélieu. By way of 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.
Single residents: 17%, a lower share than 99% 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: 46%, above 71% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 81% of compared French towns: 14%
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
In Le Bélieu, 32% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 512 to 2,582 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.
At the ends of the range sit Le Bélieu (36.3), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Le Bélieu is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Bélieu | 36.3 | 11% | 5.1% | 4.1% |
| Les Fins 3,048 · 3.1 mi | 42.2 | 18% | 2.6% | 9.6% |
| Villers-le-Lac 5,292 · 4.3 mi | 37.3 | 15% | 6.2% | 16% |
| Morteau 6,953 · 4.5 mi | 39.1 | 19% | 3.6% | 15% |
| Le Russey 2,599 · 5.4 mi | 37.6 | 15% | 2.5% | 8.4% |
| Charquemont 2,900 · 11 mi | 37.9 | 16% | 3.4% | 7.7% |
| Maîche 4,254 · 12.1 mi | 42.4 | 23% | 2.7% | 9.2% |
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 Le Bélieu
What is the population of Le Bélieu?
512 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 48% more than in 2012 (346).
How old are Le Bélieu’s residents?
The median age is 36.3, younger than 93% of compared French towns. 31% are under 18 and 11% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Bélieu?
11, with occasional dwellings: 5.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Bélieu?
INSEE counts 21 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.1% of residents, and 17 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Bélieu?
€40,350 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.