Second homes make up 23% in La Forge, more than in 94% of compared French towns
With households in social housing at 4.7%, La Forge is behind 88% of compared French towns on that count. 517 residents in 240 households: that is La Forge at the 2023 Census. Here, 47% of households are headed by a retired person. The median age in the town is 47.4, higher than in 72% 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 La Forge
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 78 second homes and occasional dwellings in La Forge, 23% of its 340 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 96% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Forge had 559 residents at the 2012 census and 517 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A lower share of households without a car than 90% of compared French towns, at 4.7%
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
Flats make up 15%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. The census found that nearly one in ten homes stand empty in La Forge. On average, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town.
La Forge changed by −8% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 94% 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 −5%; 2017 to 2023, −2%.
8.8% of residents are 15 to 24, below 85% 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
■ La Forge 47.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 26%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vosges 52.1%, France 51.8%.
8.5% of households are single parents, below 74% 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 Vosges median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. Couples with children are rarer here than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%; La Forge has 34%.
Median standard of living: €25,170 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.
Living standards centre on €25,170 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 58% of compared French towns.
6.4% of households are headed by a manual worker, below 93% 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, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 1.4% of residents are immigrants in La Forge
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, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in La Forge, 1.4%. As a reference point, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Vosges has 5.3%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 97% 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: 22%, a lower share than 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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in La Forge, 47%. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 64% of compared French towns: 26%
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
Adults with no qualification: 22%, above 63% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Nearby, 4 of 6 towns have older populations than La Forge
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Forge | 47.4 | 26% | 23% | 1.4% |
| Vagney 3,843 · 4.1 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 9% | 2.7% |
| Éloyes 3,138 · 5.8 mi | 47.1 | 26% | 2% | 4.4% |
| Granges-Aumontzey 2,529 · 6.2 mi | 53 | 31% | 14% | 5.6% |
| Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont 3,818 · 6.3 mi | 47.1 | 26% | 4.2% | 7.3% |
| Gérardmer 7,581 · 6.7 mi | 54.8 | 33% | 41% | 6.8% |
| Saint-Nabord 3,953 · 7.4 mi | 49.3 | 26% | 3.2% | 3.8% |
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 La Forge
What is the population of La Forge?
517 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (559).
How old are La Forge’s residents?
The median age is 47.4, older than 72% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Forge?
78, with occasional dwellings: 23% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Forge?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (1.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Forge?
€25,170 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 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.