Fortschwihr ranks above 95% of compared French towns on couples with children: 36%
Households in social housing: 2.7% here and 12% in the typical compared French town. Fortschwihr had 1,198 residents in 470 households at the 2023 Census. Across Fortschwihr, 3.4% of homes stand empty. Fewer second homes than in 96% of compared French towns: 0.4%.
Throughout this page, the Haut-Rhin 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 Fortschwihr
A town of families
36% of households are couples with children and 4.2% single parents with children; 16% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: +2% since 2012, behind 63% 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
Fortschwihr is older than 75% of compared French towns: a median age of 48.1
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Fortschwihr 48.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Fortschwihr comes in at 10%. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 21%.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haut-Rhin 51.5%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 99% of compared French towns: 15%
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 Haut-Rhin median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.5 people share a household. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few single-parent households: 4.2% here, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns.
Fewer households without a car than 99% of compared French towns: 2.7%
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 that moved in under two years ago: 4.6%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 26%. The benchmark for households without a car in the typical compared French town: 11%. Fortschwihr has fewer flats than 83% of compared French towns, at 12%.
€31,930 a year: the median standard of living
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 €31,930 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 91% of compared French towns.
Fortschwihr ranks above 75% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 15%
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 share of households headed by a retired person is 34%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Here, 16% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.1% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 65% of compared French towns don’t reach
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.
By its share of immigrants (8.3%), Fortschwihr is above 62% of compared French towns. Against that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Married residents make up 59% in Fortschwihr, more than in 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
In the typical compared French town, 25% of residents 15 and over are single; in Fortschwihr, 18%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Only 12% of adults out of school have no qualification in Fortschwihr
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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Fortschwihr comes in at 41%. In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification.
41 French towns of 1,198 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Fortschwihr
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortschwihr | 48.1 | 21% | 0.4% | 8.3% |
| Horbourg-Wihr 6,199 · 2.4 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 2.2% | 7.3% |
| Colmar 66,970 · 4.6 mi | 42.1 | 22% | 4.8% | 17% |
| Sainte-Croix-en-Plaine 3,004 · 6.4 mi | 45.1 | 20% | 2.9% | 4.9% |
| Ingersheim 4,774 · 6.5 mi | 46.2 | 24% | 6.6% | 13% |
| Marckolsheim 4,398 · 6.8 mi | 44 | 23% | 2.2% | 13% |
| Volgelsheim 2,720 · 6.8 mi | 42.2 | 18% | 2% | 24% |
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 Fortschwihr
What is the population of Fortschwihr?
1,198 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (1,178).
How old are Fortschwihr’s residents?
The median age is 48.1, older than 75% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fortschwihr?
2, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fortschwihr?
INSEE counts 99 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.3% of residents, and 74 foreign nationals (6.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fortschwihr?
€31,930 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 9, 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.