In Belles-Forêts, 19% of homes stand empty, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 1.1% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. Belles-Forêts counted 224 residents and 100 households at the 2023 Census. Households headed by a retired person: just over two fifths of the total. On one-person households, Belles-Forêts sits lower than 91% of compared French towns: 26%.
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 Belles-Forêts
Fewer residents than in 2012
Belles-Forêts had 247 residents at the 2012 census and 224 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 25 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Belles-Forêts’ residents are under 51.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.2% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−9% since 2012, a pace below 96% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −1%, then −9% to 2023.
Half of Belles-Forêts is over 51.7, older than 88% 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
■ Belles-Forêts 51.7. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24; in Belles-Forêts, 9.1%. By contrast, residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 64% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%.
In Belles-Forêts, 5.3% of households are single parents, fewer than in 98% 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 Moselle median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. For single-parent households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 10%. Few places have as many couples with children: 32% here, more than in 82% of compared French towns.
Only 7.4% of homes are flats in Belles-Forêts
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
3.2% of households arrived within the last two years, while 31% have stayed 30 years or more. Fewer households without a car than in 70% of compared French towns: 7.4%. Car-free households: one in 14, where the median compared French town has 11%.
Half above, half below €22,880 a year in 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €22,880 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manual worker than 73% of compared French towns, at 11%
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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Belles-Forêts comes in at 11%. The share of households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 0.5%, a lower share than 99% 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 the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Belles-Forêts has 0.5%. For comparison, 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.
A smaller share of married residents than 65% of compared French towns: 41%
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
The share of single residents stands at 25%. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 22%, a lower share than 80% 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 make up 21%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 224 to 2,582 people, the 10th 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).
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Belles-Forêts
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belles-Forêts | 51.7 | 24% | 1.6% | 0.5% |
| Dieuze 2,770 · 7.8 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 1.1% | 3.5% |
| Sarrebourg 12,170 · 8.9 mi | 41.8 | 23% | 3.3% | 11% |
| Sarre-Union 2,731 · 12.7 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 1.8% | 10% |
| Morhange 3,308 · 14 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 1.3% | 15% |
| Sarralbe 4,364 · 14.2 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 6% |
| Puttelange-aux-Lacs 3,016 · 17 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 8.1% | 15% |
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 Belles-Forêts
What is the population of Belles-Forêts?
224 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (247).
How old are Belles-Forêts’ residents?
The median age is 51.7, older than 88% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Belles-Forêts?
2, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Belles-Forêts?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.5% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Belles-Forêts?
€22,880 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.