1.2% of households rent social housing (HLM), below 98% of compared French towns
The figure for second homes is 8.4% in Bellefontaine and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. In 2023, the Census found 952 residents in the town, living in 400 households. Here, 6.9% of homes are flats. This Vosges town has fewer one-person households than 97% of compared French towns, at 23%.
Throughout this page, the Vosges 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 Bellefontaine
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bellefontaine had 1,034 residents at the 2012 census and 952 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 64 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 94% of compared French towns grew faster than Bellefontaine: −8%
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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Vosges town −6%. The first five years brought −4%; the six to 2023, −4%.
18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 77% 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
■ Bellefontaine 43.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up about one in nine here (11%). The median age in Bellefontaine is 43.9, lower than in just over half of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vosges 52.1%, France 51.8%.
More single-parent households than 67% of compared French towns: 11%
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 Vosges median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.4 people share a household. The share of single-parent households in the typical compared French town is 10%. 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, against 26% in Bellefontaine.
13% of homes stand empty, more than in 90% 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
With households without a car at 5.6%, Bellefontaine is behind 83% of compared French towns on that count. Turnover: 5.2% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 28% have lived in their home 30 years or more. The benchmark for empty homes in the typical compared French town: 6.7%.
Half above, half below €25,530 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.
Living standards centre on €25,530 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 54% of compared French towns.
In Bellefontaine, 6.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 74% 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
Here 31% of households are headed by a retired person, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 32%. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. On the census count, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.2%, 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.
The median compared commune in Vosges has 5.3%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%. Here, 0.8% of residents are foreign nationals.
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 married residents than 98% of compared French towns: 53%
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
Where a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, Bellefontaine has 23%. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 72% of compared French towns: 24%
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
With adults with no qualification at 22%, Bellefontaine is ahead of 66% of compared French towns on that count. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
41 French towns of 952 to 2,582 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is older than Bellefontaine
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellefontaine | 43.9 | 18% | 8.4% | 1.2% |
| Xertigny 2,589 · 4.1 mi | 47 | 27% | 4.2% | 3% |
| Saint-Nabord 3,953 · 5.6 mi | 49.3 | 26% | 3.2% | 3.8% |
| Le Val-d'Ajol 3,885 · 5.6 mi | 52.8 | 33% | 8.7% | 2.7% |
| Remiremont 7,388 · 6.1 mi | 50.3 | 31% | 3% | 9.1% |
| Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont 3,818 · 7 mi | 47.1 | 26% | 4.2% | 7.3% |
| Éloyes 3,138 · 8.8 mi | 47.1 | 26% | 2% | 4.4% |
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 Bellefontaine
What is the population of Bellefontaine?
952 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (1,034).
How old are Bellefontaine’s residents?
The median age is 43.9, younger than 51% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bellefontaine?
43, with occasional dwellings: 8.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bellefontaine?
INSEE counts 11 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.2% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bellefontaine?
€25,530 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.