A median age of 53.6: Bellenaves is older than 92% of compared French towns
The figure for households headed by a retired person is 51% in Bellenaves and 32% in the typical compared French town. Lower than in 85% of compared French towns: 17% of households are couples with children. At the 2023 Census, 983 people lived here, in 490 households. The census found that 7% of homes are flats in the town.
Throughout this page, the Allier 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 Bellenaves
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 110 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bellenaves, 15% of its 750 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 98% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Bellenaves’ residents are under 53.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 150 homes empty (20%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bellenaves ranks above 99% of compared French towns on empty homes: 20%
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
Households in social housing: 6.5%, below 79% of compared French towns. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. For Bellenaves, the census puts second homes at 15%. On households without a car, Bellenaves sits higher than just over four fifths of compared French towns: 19%.
−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
The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Allier town −1%. The change was ±0% from 2012 to 2017 and −4% from 2017 to 2023.
Only 5.9% of residents are 15 to 24 in Bellenaves
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bellenaves 53.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, just over a third of residents are 65 or over here. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 70% of compared French towns: 40% 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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
Nothing unusual on single-parent households: 9.1%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town. Typically, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €22,490 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.
The median standard of living in Bellenaves is €22,490 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 86% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 75% of compared French towns: 6.1%
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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, 10% of households are headed by a manual worker in Bellenaves. Measured more widely, 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).
Bellenaves sits above 62% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (5.7%)
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 Allier has 4.6%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in three fifths of compared French towns. 7.9% of residents are immigrants. Foreign nationals: 4.3% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of single residents than 93% of compared French towns: 20%
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 47% in Bellenaves. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 90% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 26% in Bellenaves. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (983 to 2,582 people), the 7th 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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
A younger town than 1 of the 6 around it: Bellenaves
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellenaves | 53.6 | 34% | 15% | 7.9% |
| Gannat 5,610 · 9.1 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 2.9% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 11.9 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 12.6 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 2% |
| Aigueperse 2,665 · 13.6 mi | 49.3 | 29% | 1.4% | 5.6% |
| Bellerive-sur-Allier 8,943 · 16.6 mi | 53 | 34% | 4.9% | 7.7% |
| Commentry 6,017 · 17 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 2.4% | 4.6% |
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 Bellenaves
What is the population of Bellenaves?
983 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (1,017).
How old are Bellenaves’ residents?
The median age is 53.6, older than 92% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bellenaves?
110, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bellenaves?
INSEE counts 78 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.9% of residents, and 56 foreign nationals (5.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bellenaves?
€22,490 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.