A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 98% of compared French towns, at 17%
By its share of single-parent households (7.3%), Bitche is below 87% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 4,966 residents in 1,970 households. Roughly two in ten: 18% of households are headed by a manual worker. More flats than in 67% of compared French towns: 43%.
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 Bitche
Empty homes
The census found 380 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bitche had 5,267 residents at the 2012 census and 4,966 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −6% since 2012 leaves Bitche 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 first five years brought −3%; the six to 2023, −3%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Moselle town −1%.
A median age of 41: Bitche is younger than 73% 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
■ Bitche 41. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 23%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 81 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Below 64% of compared French towns: 22% of households are couples with children
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
Average household size: 2.2 people. By way of comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 38%, more than in 64% of compared French towns.
Bitche: 16% of homes stand empty, above 96% of compared French towns
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
The figure for second homes is 3.1% in Bitche and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. In Bitche, nearly one in ten households rent social housing (HLM). 13% of households have no car, a higher share than in 61% of compared French towns.
Half above, half below €22,630 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 median standard of living in Bitche is €22,630 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 84% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 22.0% of residents are below the poverty line.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 56% of compared French towns, at 34%
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
Across Bitche, 8.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional. As a yardstick, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More immigrants than 70% of compared French towns: 9.9%
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 Moselle has 12%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 70% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Foreign nationals account for 6%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A larger share of single residents than 84% of compared French towns: 31%
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
By its share of married residents (41%), Bitche is below three fifths of compared French towns. Measured more widely, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 85% of compared French towns, at 20%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Bitche has 24%. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 4,911 to 5,022 people, the 6th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Bruyères-sur-Oise is the youngest (35.2); Le Fenouiller the oldest (57).
Every neighbor is older than Bitche
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitche | 41 | 23% | 3.1% | 9.9% |
| Niederbronn-les-Bains 4,347 · 11.8 mi | 50.9 | 28% | 5.3% | 5.7% |
| Ingwiller 3,995 · 12.4 mi | 46 | 26% | 2.1% | 5.6% |
| Reichshoffen 5,418 · 13.5 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 1.6% | 9.1% |
| Gundershoffen 3,834 · 14.8 mi | 43.6 | 20% | 1.1% | 6.7% |
| Bouxwiller 3,754 · 16 mi | 46 | 23% | 2.4% | 9.2% |
| Val-de-Moder 5,102 · 16.4 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.1% | 6.3% |
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 Bitche
What is the population of Bitche?
4,966 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (5,267).
How old are Bitche’s residents?
The median age is 41, younger than 73% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bitche?
76, with occasional dwellings: 3.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bitche?
INSEE counts 490 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.9% of residents, and 300 foreign nationals (6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bitche?
€22,630 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.0% 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 4, 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.