Photo: Jean-Marc Pascolo · CC BY-SA 3.0Only 3.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Carling
With a median age of 46.6, Carling is older than two thirds of compared French towns. 3,291 residents in 1,450 households: that is Carling at the 2023 Census. Second homes: 0.4% of the total. Against a figure of 10% in the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households in Carling comes in at 8.6%.
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 Carling
Fewer residents than in 2012
Carling had 3,508 residents at the 2012 census and 3,291 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 200 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Carling’s population moved −6% on 2012, less than in 91% 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 −2%; 2017 to 2023, −4%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Moselle town −1%.
24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 64% 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
■ Carling 46.6. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%.
33% of households are one person living alone, below 63% 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
The average household has 2.2 people. More couples with children than in 51% of compared French towns: 26%. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%.
12% of homes stand empty, a share 89% 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
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car in Carling comes in at 8.8%. Just over a third of homes are flats, or about one in three. Households in social housing are more common here than in 58% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,100 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 median standard of living in Carling is €24,100 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns. 18.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 91% of compared French towns, at 22%
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
Here, 32% of households are headed by a retired person. Households headed by a manual worker make up 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
10% of residents are immigrants, more than in 71% 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%; Carling has 6.3%. Elsewhere, 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.
Carling ranks below 70% of compared French towns on single residents: 23%
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 the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Carling, 45%. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 98% of compared French towns, at 15%
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
Here a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 19%. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (3,253 to 3,329 people), the 20th 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.
The youngest is Amfreville-la-Mi-Voie (36.8), the oldest Carantec (60.5).
A younger town than 3 of the 6 around it: Carling
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carling | 46.6 | 24% | 0.4% | 10% |
| L'Hôpital 5,183 · 0.9 mi | 44 | 22% | 0.8% | 9.4% |
| Creutzwald 12,254 · 2.6 mi | 47.3 | 26% | 1% | 15% |
| Ham-sous-Varsberg 2,888 · 3 mi | 43.9 | 23% | 0.4% | 7% |
| Hombourg-Haut 5,976 · 3.6 mi | 47.1 | 27% | 1% | 15% |
| Saint-Avold 14,755 · 3.9 mi | 46.8 | 24% | 1.1% | 11% |
| Freyming-Merlebach 13,266 · 4.2 mi | 43.4 | 24% | 0.6% | 17% |
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 Carling
What is the population of Carling?
3,291 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (3,508).
How old are Carling’s residents?
The median age is 46.6, older than 67% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Carling?
6, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Carling?
INSEE counts 330 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 10% of residents, and 210 foreign nationals (6.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Carling?
€24,100 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 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.