Couples with children: 38%, a higher share than 97% of compared French towns
Here 28% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. Census day 2023: 366 residents and 150 households in Ruffey-le-Château. The census found that 2.7% of households have no car in the town. 15% of residents are 65 or over, a lower share than in 90% 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 Ruffey-le-Château
A town of families
38% of households are couples with children and 10% single parents with children; 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Ruffey-le-Château grew +13% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 77% 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
The first five years brought +12%; the six to 2023, +1%.
Half of Ruffey-le-Château is under 40.6, younger than 76% 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
■ Ruffey-le-Château 40.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.7% here and 11% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Doubs 51.3%, France 51.8%.
21% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
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 2.5 people. More single-parent households than in 55% of compared French towns: 10%. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%.
Second homes: 4.2%, a higher share than 73% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Flats account for 22%. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty; in Ruffey-le-Château, 7.8%.
€28,350 a year is the median standard of living here
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 €28,350 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 74% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a retired person than 98% of compared French towns, at 17%
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
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 3.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. For households headed by a retired person, the comparison 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).
Ruffey-le-Château sits below 95% of compared French towns for immigrants (1.7%)
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 lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Foreign nationals: 1.1% of the total. Against that, 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.
Ruffey-le-Château sits above 85% of compared French towns for married residents (48%)
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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 22% of residents 15 and over are single here. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Ruffey-le-Château sits below 91% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (11%)
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 graduates of higher education tops 70% of compared French towns: 36%. For comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 366 to 2,582 people, the 4th youngest
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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Ruffey-le-Château
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruffey-le-Château | 40.6 | 15% | 4.2% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Vit 5,133 · 7.1 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 1.2% | 5.8% |
| Les Auxons 2,533 · 7.6 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 0.7% | 3.7% |
| Miserey-Salines 2,661 · 8.3 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.6% |
| École-Valentin 2,579 · 8.9 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 1.6% | 6.1% |
| Besançon 118,489 · 10.5 mi | 35.6 | 19% | 2.5% | 15% |
| Thise 2,994 · 12.9 mi | 53.1 | 34% | 0.8% | 3.6% |
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 Ruffey-le-Château
What is the population of Ruffey-le-Château?
366 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% more than in 2012 (324).
How old are Ruffey-le-Château’s residents?
The median age is 40.6, younger than 76% of compared French towns. 27% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ruffey-le-Château?
7, with occasional dwellings: 4.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ruffey-le-Château?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ruffey-le-Château?
€28,350 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.