Half of Métabief is under 35.3, younger than 96% of compared French towns
Single-parent households make up 5.3%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few empty homes: 2% here, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 1,375 people lived in Métabief, in 740 households. 2.8% of households have no car, or about one in 36.
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 Métabief
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 1,650 second homes and occasional dwellings in Métabief, 68% of its 2,440 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 33% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
A young town
Half of Métabief’s residents are under 35.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 16% are under 15 and 8.3% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Métabief had 1,089 residents at the 2012 census and 1,375 in 2023, up 26%: faster growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
51% of Métabief’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 33% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Métabief, 68% of homes are second homes, more than in 99% 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 households in social housing at 1.6%, Métabief is behind 98% of compared French towns on that count. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Flats account for 63%.
Métabief grew +26% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 95% 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 same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Doubs town −1%. From 2012 to 2017 the change was +10%; from 2017 to 2023, +15%.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of compared French towns: 8.3%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Métabief 35.3. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Métabief, 8.4%. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 81 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 94% of compared French towns, at 51%
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
Households average 1.8 people. 20% of households are couples with children, a lower share than in 72% of compared French towns. To put it in context, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €43,920 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.
Living standards centre on €43,920 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 99% of compared French towns.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 13% of households are headed by a retired person
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
Households headed by a manual worker: 20%, above 85% of compared French towns. Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 12% in Métabief. The share of households headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Métabief: 6.4% of 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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 51% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Doubs has 8.5%. Across Métabief, 4.6% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Métabief ranks below 96% of compared French towns on married residents: 32%
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
The share of single residents tops 82% of compared French towns: 31%. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 98% of compared French towns: 8.3%
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
40% of Métabief’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 8.3% have no diploma (19%).
The youngest of 41 French towns of 1,375 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 Métabief (35.3), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Every neighbor is older than Métabief
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Métabief | 35.3 | 8.3% | 68% | 6.4% |
| Pontarlier 18,067 · 9.5 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 3.5% | 15% |
| Doubs 3,335 · 10.6 mi | 42.6 | 22% | 2.3% | 9.3% |
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 Métabief
What is the population of Métabief?
1,375 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% more than in 2012 (1,089).
How old are Métabief’s residents?
The median age is 35.3, younger than 96% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 8.3% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Métabief?
1,650, with occasional dwellings: 68% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Métabief?
INSEE counts 88 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.4% of residents, and 64 foreign nationals (4.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Métabief?
€43,920 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.