Photo: œuvre personnelle · Public domainBehren-lès-Forbach sits above 99% of compared French towns for households in social housing (52%)
2% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. Still, at 13%, the share of single-parent households is higher than in 86% of compared French towns. Behren-lès-Forbach had 6,166 residents in 2,460 households at the 2023 census. Flats account for 76%.
Throughout this page, the Moselle 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 Behren-lès-Forbach
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,700 immigrants in Behren-lès-Forbach (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 27% of residents, against 12% for the median compared commune in Moselle. 18% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Behren-lès-Forbach had 7,500 residents at the 2012 census and 6,166 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Social housing
52% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 16% rent privately and 22% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 600 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Behren-lès-Forbach has changed by −18%, slower 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
Here the change came as −13% to 2017, then −6% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Moselle.
A median age of 41.5: Behren-lès-Forbach is younger than 69% 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
■ Behren-lès-Forbach 41.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: just over a tenth of the total. Little separates the share of residents aged 65 and over here, 22%, from the figure in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Behren-lès-Forbach sits above 78% of compared French towns for couples with children (31%)
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 Moselle median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.5 people in the average household. On one-person households, Behren-lès-Forbach sits lower than 64% of compared French towns: 32%. Set beside that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 20%
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
Compared with 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 0.5% of homes are second homes here. As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Across Behren-lès-Forbach, just over a fifth of households have no car.
Standard of living at the median: €17,470 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 €17,470 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 99% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 39.0% of residents.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 97% of compared French towns, at 26%
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 36%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of immigrants than 97% of compared French towns: 27%
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.
18% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. The median compared commune in Moselle has 12%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 97% of compared French towns. Set beside 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.
Married residents: 50%, a higher share than 91% 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
Single residents: 29%, above nearly three quarters of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married.
In Behren-lès-Forbach, 12% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 99% 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 figure for adults with no qualification is 45% in Behren-lès-Forbach and 19% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 11th youngest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ostricourt is the youngest (35.8); Le Barcarès the oldest (63.7).
Behren-lès-Forbach is younger than every town 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behren-lès-Forbach | 41.5 | 22% | 0.5% | 27% |
| Œting 2,599 · 1.1 mi | 47.9 | 21% | 1.4% | 23% |
| Spicheren 3,143 · 2 mi | 49.4 | 24% | 0.9% | 30% |
| Stiring-Wendel 10,956 · 2.1 mi | 50.1 | 25% | 0.3% | 15% |
| Forbach 20,493 · 2.2 mi | 44.1 | 23% | 1.2% | 24% |
| Morsbach 2,635 · 3 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 0.6% | 13% |
| Grosbliederstroff 3,346 · 4 mi | 50.2 | 24% | 0.9% | 31% |
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 Behren-lès-Forbach
What is the population of Behren-lès-Forbach?
6,166 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (7,500).
How old are Behren-lès-Forbach’s residents?
The median age is 41.5, younger than 69% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Behren-lès-Forbach?
16, with occasional dwellings: 0.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Behren-lès-Forbach?
INSEE counts 1,660 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 27% of residents, and 1,140 foreign nationals (18%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Behren-lès-Forbach?
€17,470 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 39.0% 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.