39% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 98% of compared French towns
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (14%), Bellignat is above 94% of compared French towns. The town’s 1,650 households held 3,525 residents at the 2023 Census. Households headed by a manager or professional make up about one in 18 here (5.7%). 63% of homes are flats, more than in 86% 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 Bellignat
Immigrants
INSEE counts 900 immigrants in Bellignat (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 26% of residents, against 8.5% for the median compared commune in Ain. 21% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Social housing
39% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 19% rent privately and 38% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−3% since 2012: slower than 82% 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 ±0% to 2017, then −3% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +13% in Ain.
A median age of 40.8: Bellignat is younger than 75% 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
■ Bellignat 40.8. The median compared French town: 44.
For Bellignat, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 21%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
In Bellignat, 42% of households are one person living alone, more than in 78% 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 Ain median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%; Bellignat has 22%. Single-parent households make up about one in 12 here (8.4%). The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town.
11% of homes stand empty, more than in 82% 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
Here 18% of households have no car, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. On average, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 15% moved in during the last two years and 17% have stayed three decades or more. At 1.7%, the share of second homes is lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
The median resident lives on €23,370 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.
Half of residents live in households above €23,370 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 78% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 21.0%.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 91% of compared French towns: 22%
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, fewer than in 51% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Bellignat ranks above 97% of compared French towns on immigrants: 26%
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.
By its share of foreign nationals (21%), Bellignat is above 97% of compared French towns. For comparison, 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.
In Bellignat, 31% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 83% 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
Against a figure of 43% in the typical compared French town, the share of married residents in Bellignat comes in at 47%. By way of comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 94% of compared French towns, at 31%
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 graduates of higher education (23%), Bellignat is below 75% of compared French towns. Against that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (3,508 to 3,543 people), the 7th 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.
Rubelles is the youngest (34.9); Deauville the oldest (63.3).
Around Bellignat, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellignat | 40.8 | 21% | 1.7% | 26% |
| Oyonnax 22,480 · 1 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2.1% | 33% |
| Arbent 3,555 · 3.3 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 1% | 24% |
| Montréal-la-Cluse 3,568 · 5.4 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 2.2% | 23% |
| Nantua 3,416 · 6.8 mi | 42.3 | 23% | 3.6% | 27% |
| Valserhône 16,712 · 12.7 mi | 40.3 | 17% | 2.9% | 21% |
| Péron 2,916 · 14.4 mi | 37.1 | 10% | 6.5% | 25% |
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 Bellignat
What is the population of Bellignat?
3,525 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (3,642).
How old are Bellignat’s residents?
The median age is 40.8, younger than 75% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bellignat?
33, with occasional dwellings: 1.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bellignat?
INSEE counts 910 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 26% of residents, and 730 foreign nationals (21%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bellignat?
€23,370 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.0% 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.