Above 99% of compared French towns: 40% of households are couples with children
1.7% of homes stand empty; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.7%. Rancenay is home to 436 residents in 170 households, by the 2023 Census. Across Rancenay, 34% of households are headed by a manager or professional. Few places have as many second homes: 6.2% here, more than in 81% 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 Rancenay
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 18% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Rancenay had 291 residents at the 2012 census and 436 in 2023, up 50%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many graduates
49% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 18% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +50% change since 2012: Rancenay grew 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −1% for the median Doubs town, the change came in two steps: +21% from 2012 to 2017, then +24% to 2023.
18% of residents are 65 or over, below 78% 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
■ Rancenay 42.1. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Rancenay is 42.1, lower than in 65% of compared French towns. Locally, 13% of residents are 15 to 24.
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%.
Only 24% of households are one person living alone in Rancenay
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 2.6 people. More single-parent households than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns: 11%. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Fewer households without a car than 99% of compared French towns: 2.2%
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
Flats: 10%, below 86% of compared French towns. On average, just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €30,000 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €30,000 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 84% of compared French towns.
Below 85% of compared French towns: 8.5% of households are headed by a manual worker
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 figure for households headed by a retired person is 30% in Rancenay and 32% in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manual worker make up 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 7% of Rancenay’s residents
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.
The median compared commune in Doubs has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 53% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up about one in 14 here (7%). At 4.3%, foreign nationals sit close to the figure 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.
Rancenay sits below 82% of compared French towns for single residents (21%)
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
Here 47% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
In Rancenay, 49% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 92% of compared French towns
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 is 13%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 9th youngest of 41 French towns of 436 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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Rancenay is younger than 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancenay | 42.1 | 18% | 6.2% | 7% |
| Besançon 118,489 · 4.8 mi | 35.6 | 19% | 2.5% | 15% |
| École-Valentin 2,579 · 6.1 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 1.6% | 6.1% |
| Saint-Vit 5,133 · 6.4 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 1.2% | 5.8% |
| Miserey-Salines 2,661 · 6.9 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.6% |
| Les Auxons 2,533 · 7.8 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 0.7% | 3.7% |
| Saône 3,195 · 8.1 mi | 46.1 | 24% | 0.7% | 3.3% |
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 Rancenay
What is the population of Rancenay?
436 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 50% more than in 2012 (291).
How old are Rancenay’s residents?
The median age is 42.1, younger than 65% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Rancenay?
11, with occasional dwellings: 6.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Rancenay?
INSEE counts 30 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (4.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Rancenay?
€30,000 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.