Photo: The original uploader was InXtremis at French Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 1.0Above 97% of compared French towns: 16% of homes stand empty
The share of one-person households tops 71% of compared French towns: 41%. Census figures put flats at 67% in Forbach. 19% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 79% of compared French towns. The town is home to 20,493 residents in 9,020 households, by the 2023 Census.
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 Forbach
Immigrants
INSEE counts 4,800 immigrants in Forbach (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 24% of residents, against 12% for the median compared commune in Moselle. 20% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Empty homes
The census found 1,780 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Forbach had 21,475 residents at the 2012 census and 20,493 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −5% change since 2012: slower than 87% 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
Forbach ranks above 68% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 12%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Forbach 44.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over account for 23%. The median age in Forbach is 44.1, higher than in 50% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Forbach sits above 76% of compared French towns for single-parent households (12%)
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. For comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Nearly a quarter of households are couples with children, a lower share than in 62% of compared French towns.
Forbach: 20% of households have no car, above 83% 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
Little separates the share of second homes here, 1.2%, from the figure in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%. For Forbach, the census puts households in social housing at 17%.
€19,530 a year: the median 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €19,530 a year: lower than in 97% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 34.0% of residents are below the line.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 82% of compared French towns: 5.4%
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 tops just over three fifths of compared French towns: 34%. Against that, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 96% of compared French towns, at 24%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 20% in Forbach. Typically, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Moselle has 12%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 96% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents make up 30% in Forbach, more than in 79% 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. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 96% of compared French towns: 33%
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, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Forbach, 19%.
41 French towns of 19,917 to 21,079 people: this is the 12th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Carrières-sous-Poissy (32.6), the youngest, and Concarneau (53.9), the oldest.
Forbach and its 6 nearest towns: 5 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbach | 44.1 | 23% | 1.2% | 24% |
| Œting 2,599 · 1.3 mi | 47.9 | 21% | 1.4% | 23% |
| Morsbach 2,635 · 1.7 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 0.6% | 13% |
| Stiring-Wendel 10,956 · 1.9 mi | 50.1 | 25% | 0.3% | 15% |
| Behren-lès-Forbach 6,166 · 2.2 mi | 41.5 | 22% | 0.5% | 27% |
| Petite-Rosselle 6,171 · 2.3 mi | 44.5 | 20% | 0.6% | 16% |
| Spicheren 3,143 · 3.1 mi | 49.4 | 24% | 0.9% | 30% |
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 Forbach
What is the population of Forbach?
20,493 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (21,475).
How old are Forbach’s residents?
The median age is 44.1, older than 50% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Forbach?
130, with occasional dwellings: 1.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Forbach?
INSEE counts 4,820 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 24% of residents, and 4,020 foreign nationals (20%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Forbach?
€19,530 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 34.0% 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.