Photo: The original uploader was F5ZV at French Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0In Bruyères, 13% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 95% of compared French towns
The share of households without a car tops 85% of compared French towns: 21%. Bruyères had 2,923 residents in 1,430 households at the 2023 Census. Households headed by a manager or professional account for 3.1%. Few places have as many flats: 55% here, more than in four fifths of compared French towns.
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 Bruyères
Many people living alone
51% of Bruyères’ households are one person: higher than in 95% of compared French towns; 34% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bruyères had 3,176 residents at the 2012 census and 2,923 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 330 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Bruyères’ residents are under 51.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bruyères changed by −8% from 2012 to 2023, behind 95% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Vosges town −6%.
Bruyères is older than 87% of compared French towns: a median age of 51.4
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bruyères 51.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town. Bruyères has more residents aged 65 and over than 89% of compared French towns, at 32%.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vosges 52.1%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
More one-person households than 95% of compared French towns: 51%
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
Against a figure of 10% in the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households in Bruyères comes in at 12%. Typically, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. On average, 1.9 people share a household.
18% of homes stand empty, a share 98% 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
Here nearly a fifth of households rent social housing (HLM), where the figure in the typical compared French town is 12%. Across the comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 4.3% of homes are second homes.
The median resident lives on €21,280 a year per consumption unit
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 €21,280 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 92% of compared French towns. 26.0% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
40% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 83% 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
Households headed by a manual worker: 20% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 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).
Immigrants make up 5% in Bruyères, less than in 64% 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 64% of compared French towns. The share of foreign nationals stands at 3.2%. Set beside that, 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.
Only 32% of residents 15 and over are married in Bruyères
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, the share of single residents is 25%; Bruyères has 32%. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 90% of compared French towns
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
30% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 2,897 to 2,949 people: this is the 5th 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.
Avord is the youngest (32.5); Lalinde the oldest (58.7).
Median age: 2 of the 6 towns around Bruyères 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruyères | 51.4 | 32% | 4.3% | 5% |
| Granges-Aumontzey 2,529 · 5.2 mi | 53 | 31% | 14% | 5.6% |
| Éloyes 3,138 · 9.4 mi | 47.1 | 26% | 2% | 4.4% |
| Rambervillers 5,018 · 10.1 mi | 47 | 26% | 1.4% | 7.3% |
| Anould 3,234 · 10.5 mi | 50.6 | 26% | 9.5% | 1.9% |
| Gérardmer 7,581 · 11.7 mi | 54.8 | 33% | 41% | 6.8% |
| Saint-Dié-des-Vosges 19,251 · 11.9 mi | 46.5 | 27% | 2.9% | 12% |
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 Bruyères
What is the population of Bruyères?
2,923 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (3,176).
How old are Bruyères’ residents?
The median age is 51.4, older than 87% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bruyères?
78, with occasional dwellings: 4.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bruyères?
INSEE counts 150 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5% of residents, and 94 foreign nationals (3.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bruyères?
€21,280 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 26.0% 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.