6.6% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 98% of compared French towns
6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, against 2.2% in Raves. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 481, in 210 households. One-person households account for 26%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% 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.
A growing town: +8% since 2012, faster than 64% 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
Here the change came as +5% to 2017, then +3% to 2023.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 65% of compared French towns: 25%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Raves 44.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Raves’s residents are over 44.6, older than in 54% of compared French towns. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over 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%.
Raves ranks above 62% of compared French towns on couples with children: 27%
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
Each household has 2.2 people on average. Set beside that, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. 9.3% of households are single parents, a lower share than in 62% of compared French towns.
Raves ranks below 84% of compared French towns on flats: 11%
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
6% of homes are second homes (typical compared French town: 2.1%). To put it in context, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Households without a car make up about one in 16 here (6.2%).
A median standard of living of €24,690 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.
At €24,690 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 64% of compared French towns.
4.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 88% 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
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 40% in Raves. At 18%, the share of households headed by a manual worker is higher than in 77% of compared French towns. Typically, 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).
Immigrants make up 2.5% in Raves, less 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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 1.9% of residents are foreign nationals in Raves. As a yardstick, 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 17% of residents 15 and over are single in Raves
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 married residents is 43%; Raves has 51%. The wider picture: 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 72% 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
By its share of adults with no qualification (21%), Raves is above 59% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 17th youngest 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Raves is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raves | 44.6 | 25% | 6% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Dié-des-Vosges 19,251 · 5 mi | 46.5 | 27% | 2.9% | 12% |
| Fraize 2,843 · 5.7 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 9.6% | 2.2% |
| Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 4,851 · 6.2 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Anould 3,234 · 6.9 mi | 50.6 | 26% | 9.5% | 1.9% |
| Moyenmoutier 3,134 · 10.4 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 4.5% | 2.4% |
| Orbey 3,429 · 10.8 mi | 49.6 | 26% | 12% | 3.7% |
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 Raves
What is the population of Raves?
481 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (444).
How old are Raves’ residents?
The median age is 44.6, older than 54% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Raves?
14, with occasional dwellings: 6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Raves?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (1.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Raves?
€24,690 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.