Above 93% of compared French towns: 14% of homes stand empty
Households headed by a manual worker: 20%, above 83% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Belley’s population at 9,388, in 4,440 households. Across Belley, 26% of residents are 65 or over. Couples with children are rarer here than in 74% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ain 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 Belley
Empty homes
The census found 740 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Belley’s population changed by +6% since 2012, more than in 55% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +3%; from 2017 to 2023, +3%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Ain town +13%.
Belley is older than 67% of compared French towns: a median age of 46.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Belley 46.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Locally, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 83% of compared French towns: 45% of households are one person living alone
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 Ain median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 9.4%. Households here average 2 people each. On average, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
In Belley, 22% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 81% 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
Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 3%. In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM). For Belley, the census puts flats at 55%. This Ain town has more households without a car than 74% of compared French towns, at 17%.
At the median, €24,270 a year to live on
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 €24,270 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 68% of compared French towns. 18.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 75% of compared French towns: 6.2%
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 figure for households headed by a retired person is 35% in Belley and 32% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 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).
13% of residents are immigrants, a share 80% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Ain has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 80% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Census figures put foreign nationals at 8.2% in Belley.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer married residents than 67% of compared French towns: 40%
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 figure for single residents is 27% in Belley and 25% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Belley ranks above 82% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 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
25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. On average, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (9,252 to 9,542 people), the 10th 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.
Ages run from 35.7 in Vert-Saint-Denis to 57.9 in Carqueiranne.
Every neighbor is younger than Belley
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belley | 46.5 | 26% | 3% | 13% |
| Yenne 3,026 · 5.3 mi | 44.3 | 25% | 5.1% | 4.9% |
| Culoz-Béon 3,453 · 7.8 mi | 43.5 | 23% | 6.2% | 15% |
| Les Avenières Veyrins-Thuellin 7,698 · 10.5 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 5.3% | 5.6% |
| Saint-Genix-les-Villages 3,095 · 11 mi | 44.5 | 23% | 6.5% | 4.4% |
| Le Bourget-du-Lac 5,216 · 11 mi | 36.5 | 19% | 7.6% | 4.7% |
| La Biolle 2,948 · 11.4 mi | 40 | 17% | 2.8% | 4.9% |
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 Belley
What is the population of Belley?
9,388 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (8,870).
How old are Belley’s residents?
The median age is 46.5, older than 67% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Belley?
160, with occasional dwellings: 3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Belley?
INSEE counts 1,190 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 13% of residents, and 770 foreign nationals (8.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Belley?
€24,270 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% 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.