Older than 89% of compared French towns: half of Arc-lès-Gray is over 52.2
16% of households are couples with children, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 2.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional. Arc-lès-Gray has more households in social housing than 69% of compared French towns, at 17%. There were 1,240 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 2,393 residents.
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 Arc-lès-Gray
An older town
Half of Arc-lès-Gray’s residents are under 52.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Arc-lès-Gray had 2,541 residents at the 2012 census and 2,393 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 160 homes empty (11%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −6% since 2012 leaves Arc-lès-Gray behind 90% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought ±0%; 2017 to 2023, −6%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Haute-Saône town −5%.
Above 87% of compared French towns: 30% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Arc-lès-Gray 52.2. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 9.5% in Arc-lès-Gray. For comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Haute-Saône 51.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Arc-lès-Gray, 43% of households are one person living alone, more than in 79% 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 Haute-Saône median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 1.9 people. By way of comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. At 10%, the share of single-parent households is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
Arc-lès-Gray ranks above 86% of compared French towns on empty homes: 11%
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 without a car: 15% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Locally, 0.9% of homes are second homes.
Median standard of living: €22,850 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.
Living standards centre on €22,850 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 83% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 18.0%.
More households headed by a retired person than 86% of compared French towns: 41%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Arc-lès-Gray has 22%. Households headed by a retired person: 32% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
4.6% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 53% 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.
The median compared commune in Haute-Saône has 8.7%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 51% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Locally, 6.7% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
24% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 60% 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
Here 44% 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%.
Arc-lès-Gray ranks below 98% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 14%
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
By its share of adults with no qualification (32%), Arc-lès-Gray is above 95% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 2,393 to 2,582 people, the 8th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Arc-lès-Gray and the towns around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arc-lès-Gray | 52.2 | 30% | 0.9% | 6.7% |
| Gray 5,365 · 1.3 mi | 47.5 | 28% | 2.4% | 11% |
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 Arc-lès-Gray
What is the population of Arc-lès-Gray?
2,393 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (2,541).
How old are Arc-lès-Gray’s residents?
The median age is 52.2, older than 89% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arc-lès-Gray?
12, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arc-lès-Gray?
INSEE counts 160 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.7% of residents, and 110 foreign nationals (4.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arc-lès-Gray?
€22,850 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% 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 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.