More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 23%
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Arbecey comes in at 28%. The town is home to 228 residents in 100 households, by the 2023 Census. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 7% in the town. 3.1% of homes are flats, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Saône 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 Arbecey
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 22 second homes and occasional dwellings in Arbecey, 14% of its 160 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Arbecey had 248 residents at the 2012 census and 228 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 37 homes empty (23%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
14% of homes are second homes, a share 90% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Car-free households: one in 19, where the median compared French town has 11%. On the census count, 5.3% of households have no car. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Arbecey has changed by −8%, slower than 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
In two steps, +4% to 2017 and −12% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −5% in Haute-Saône.
Half of Arbecey is over 48.7, older than 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
■ Arbecey 48.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 21%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Saône 51.4%, France 51.8%.
Arbecey ranks below 92% of compared French towns on one-person households: 26%
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 Haute-Saône median and the France median
Living alone · share
Couples with children make up 31%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. There are 2.2 people in the average household. 10% of households are single parents, a higher share than in 51% of compared French towns.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €23,070 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 €23,070 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 81% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a retired person than 57% of compared French towns: 31%
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 manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.7%, a lower share than 94% 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.
In Arbecey, 0.9% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. On average, 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 Arbecey, 18% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 98% 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 Arbecey, 52% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
In Arbecey, 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 86% 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
Adults with no qualification: 21%, above three fifths of compared French towns. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
15th highest median age among 41 French towns of 228 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Arbecey
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbecey | 48.7 | 21% | 14% | 1.7% |
| Port-sur-Saône 2,949 · 6.5 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 2.8% | 4.4% |
| Vesoul 15,078 · 13.3 mi | 44.8 | 24% | 3.2% | 14% |
| Échenoz-la-Méline 3,158 · 13.6 mi | 47.5 | 24% | 2% | 5.8% |
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 Arbecey
What is the population of Arbecey?
228 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (248).
How old are Arbecey’s residents?
The median age is 48.7, older than 78% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arbecey?
22, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arbecey?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.7% of residents, and 2 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arbecey?
€23,070 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 8, 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.