Photo: François BERNARDIN · CC BY-SA 3.0In Petite-Rosselle, 28% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 99% of compared French towns
Single-parent households: 15% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. Census day 2023: 6,171 residents and 2,600 households in Petite-Rosselle. Just over one in ten homes stand empty. At 0.6%, the share of second homes is lower than in 94% of compared French towns.
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 Petite-Rosselle
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,000 immigrants in Petite-Rosselle (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 16% of residents, against 12% for the median compared commune in Moselle. 13% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Petite-Rosselle had 6,507 residents at the 2012 census and 6,171 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 89% 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 89% 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 −3%; 2017 to 2023, −3%.
20% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 63% 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
■ Petite-Rosselle 44.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Petite-Rosselle’s residents are over 44.5, older than in 53% of compared French towns. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 10% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Moselle 51.8%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 30% in Petite-Rosselle, less than in 76% 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
Average household size: 2.3 people. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%. Couples with children: 26% here and 25% in the typical compared French town.
Petite-Rosselle: 37% of homes are flats, above 60% 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
Set against 12% in the typical compared French town, 15% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Petite-Rosselle. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up nearly one in ten households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 28%.
Half above, half below €22,620 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 €22,620 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 85% of compared French towns. Some 22.0% of residents fall below the poverty line.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 4.6%, a lower share than 89% of compared French towns
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 26%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 9.4% of 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).
Immigrants make up 16% in Petite-Rosselle, more than in 87% 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.
By its share of foreign nationals (13%), Petite-Rosselle is above 89% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of married residents than 70% of compared French towns, at 46%
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%. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 96% of compared French towns, at 16%
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%; Petite-Rosselle has 28%. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 6,106 to 6,240 people: this is the 16th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Pont-Évêque to 63.7 in Le Barcarès.
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Petite-Rosselle
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petite-Rosselle | 44.5 | 20% | 0.6% | 16% |
| Forbach 20,493 · 2.3 mi | 44.1 | 23% | 1.2% | 24% |
| Morsbach 2,635 · 3 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 0.6% | 13% |
| Stiring-Wendel 10,956 · 3.3 mi | 50.1 | 25% | 0.3% | 15% |
| Œting 2,599 · 3.6 mi | 47.9 | 21% | 1.4% | 23% |
| Cocheren 3,358 · 4.4 mi | 48 | 27% | 0.7% | 8.1% |
| Behren-lès-Forbach 6,166 · 4.5 mi | 41.5 | 22% | 0.5% | 27% |
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 Petite-Rosselle
What is the population of Petite-Rosselle?
6,171 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (6,507).
How old are Petite-Rosselle’s residents?
The median age is 44.5, older than 53% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Petite-Rosselle?
17, with occasional dwellings: 0.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Petite-Rosselle?
INSEE counts 990 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 16% of residents, and 790 foreign nationals (13%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Petite-Rosselle?
€22,620 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 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.