Bey ranks below 99% of compared French towns on households without a car: 0.8%
Flats make up 2.9%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. In 2023, the Census found 286 residents in Bey, living in 130 households. Households headed by a manual worker make up about one in four here (27%). Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 19% here, fewer than in 73% 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.
A +10% change since 2012: faster than 70% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Ain town +13%. The years 2012 to 2017 brought +7%; 2017 to 2023, +3%.
8.1% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 92% 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
■ Bey 46. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Bey is 46, higher than in 63% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
44% women, 56% men
About 77 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Ain 51.0%, France 51.8%.
Fewer single-parent households than 84% of compared French towns: 7.6%
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
Households here average 2.2 people each. Bey has fewer one-person households than just over two thirds of compared French towns, at 32%. The usual figure: 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, against 26% locally.
Fewer households in social housing than 67% of compared French towns: 8.7%
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
Newcomers of less than two years account for 6.2% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 22%. On second homes, Bey sits higher than three fifths of compared French towns: 2.8%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing is 12%. At 6.4%, empty homes sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €29,040 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.
The median standard of living in Bey is €29,040 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 79% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 95% of compared French towns: 3.7%
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
On the census count, 31% of households are headed by a retired person. For comparison, 9.4% of 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 0.7% in Bey, less than in 99% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Bey has 0.4%. Set beside that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Ain has 8.5%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% 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.
Only 20% of residents 15 and over are single in Bey
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 Bey, 47% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 92% of compared French towns: 11%
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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Bey comes in at 28%. As a reference point, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
19th highest median age among 41 French towns of 286 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Of the 6 towns nearest Bey, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bey | 46 | 19% | 2.8% | 0.7% |
| Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne 2,934 · 3.1 mi | 44.3 | 22% | 3.6% | 3.7% |
| Crêches-sur-Saône 3,198 · 3.2 mi | 46.8 | 24% | 0.5% | 7.1% |
| La Chapelle-de-Guinchay 4,018 · 3.8 mi | 42.8 | 19% | 3.1% | 4.4% |
| Replonges 3,956 · 6.1 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 1.1% | 4.3% |
| Mâcon 35,177 · 6.4 mi | 40.2 | 22% | 3.3% | 21% |
| Charnay-lès-Mâcon 8,227 · 6.4 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.9% | 6% |
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 Bey
What is the population of Bey?
286 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% more than in 2012 (260).
How old are Bey’s residents?
The median age is 46, older than 63% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bey?
4, with occasional dwellings: 2.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bey?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.7% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bey?
€29,040 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 October 30, 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.