Photo: Norbert Aepli, Switzerland ( User:Noebu ) · Public domainIn Montbéliard, 16% of homes stand empty, more than in 97% of compared French towns
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 47% of households are one person living alone here. There were 11,350 households in Montbéliard at the 2023 Census, home to 24,672 residents. Put another way, about one in seven: 14% of residents are 15 to 24. The town has more flats than 94% of compared French towns, at 78%.
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 Montbéliard
Immigrants
INSEE counts 4,800 immigrants in Montbéliard (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 20% of residents, against 8.5% for the median compared commune in Doubs. 15% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Empty homes
The census found 2,310 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Social housing
34% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 25% rent privately and 40% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Montbéliard had 26,084 residents at the 2012 census and 24,672 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Montbéliard changed by −5% from 2012 to 2023, behind 89% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was −3%; from 2017 to 2023, −3%.
Montbéliard is younger than 71% of compared French towns: a median age of 41.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Montbéliard 41.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 58% of compared French towns: 24%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Fewer couples with children than 77% of compared French towns: 19%
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. Against that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households make up about one in nine here (11%).
A larger share of households in social housing than 95% of compared French towns: 34%
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
Without a car: one household in four, against 11% in the median compared French town. Households in social housing: 12% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Locally, 24% of households have no car. Higher than in 55% of compared French towns: 2.5% of homes are second homes.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €21,000 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 €21,000 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 93% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 30.1%.
Montbéliard: 19% of households are headed by a manual worker, above 78% of compared French towns
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
35% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% of the total. The benchmark for households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town: 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 20% in Montbéliard, more than in 92% 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 15% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. To put it in context, 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.
In Montbéliard, 33% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 87% 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: 40%, below 69% of compared French towns. For comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Above 86% of compared French towns: 28% of adults out of school have no qualification
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
27% of Montbéliard’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 28% have no diploma (19%).
Of 41 French towns its size (23,350 to 26,079 people), the 19th oldest
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 Hérouville-Saint-Clair (34.5), the oldest Vichy (53.1).
Montbéliard is younger than 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montbéliard | 41.2 | 24% | 2.5% | 20% |
| Bethoncourt 5,308 · 1.6 mi | 41.1 | 23% | 0.8% | 24% |
| Sochaux 3,721 · 1.8 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1.9% | 22% |
| Exincourt 3,277 · 1.8 mi | 46.7 | 27% | 0.8% | 10% |
| Grand-Charmont 5,873 · 1.8 mi | 39.2 | 21% | 0.5% | 18% |
| Vieux-Charmont 2,786 · 2.2 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 1.8% | 10% |
| Voujeaucourt 3,174 · 2.8 mi | 47.4 | 23% | 0.7% | 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 Montbéliard
What is the population of Montbéliard?
24,672 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (26,084).
How old are Montbéliard’s residents?
The median age is 41.2, younger than 71% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Montbéliard?
350, with occasional dwellings: 2.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Montbéliard?
INSEE counts 4,830 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 20% of residents, and 3,740 foreign nationals (15%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Montbéliard?
€21,000 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 30.1% 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.