A lower share of flats than 98% of compared French towns, at 3.3%
The figure for households without a car is 4.3% in Besson and 11% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census, 728 people lived in the town, in 330 households. 4.7% of households are single parents, or about one in 21. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
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 Besson
Fewer residents than in 2012
Besson had 783 residents at the 2012 census and 728 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−7% since 2012, a pace below 93% 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 first five years brought −2%; the six to 2023, −5%.
Older than 81% of compared French towns: half of Besson is over 49.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Besson 49.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.8%, below 84% of compared French towns. 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Allier 52.6%, France 51.8%.
More couples with children than 65% of compared French towns: 28%
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
Here a third of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children. Average household size: 2.2 people.
6.2% of homes in Besson are second homes
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
In Besson, nearly one in ten homes stand empty, beside 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €27,440 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.
Living standards centre on €27,440 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 65% of compared French towns.
41% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 86% 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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Besson comes in at 11%. 13% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 58% of compared French towns. As a reference point, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 87% of compared French towns: 2.4% of residents are immigrants
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 Besson, 1.4% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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.
Besson ranks below 99% of compared French towns on single residents: 17%
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 median compared French town 43% are married and 6.1% in a PACS; here it is 53% and 4.9%, and 6.9% are widowed. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
14% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 79% 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
On the census count, 29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 728 to 2,582 people, the 14th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Older than Besson: 4 of the 5 towns nearby
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besson | 49.6 | 27% | 6.2% | 2.4% |
| Moulins 19,206 · 6.9 mi | 43.9 | 25% | 4.3% | 9.9% |
| Yzeure 12,897 · 7.5 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.4% | 6.4% |
| Avermes 4,074 · 8.4 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 1.4% | 5.2% |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 11.6 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 2% |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 12.6 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 0.9% | 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 Besson
What is the population of Besson?
728 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (783).
How old are Besson’s residents?
The median age is 49.6, older than 81% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Besson?
24, with occasional dwellings: 6.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Besson?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (1.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Besson?
€27,440 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.