Older than 93% of compared French towns: half of Dompierre-sur-Besbre is over 54.3
47% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). At the 2023 Census Dompierre-sur-Besbre was home to 2,959 people in 1,450 households. The census found that 6.5% of households are single parents in the town. Households without a car are more common here than in 71% 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 Dompierre-sur-Besbre
An older town
Half of Dompierre-sur-Besbre’s residents are under 54.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Dompierre-sur-Besbre had 3,128 residents at the 2012 census and 2,959 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 250 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.
Dompierre-sur-Besbre changed by −5% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 89% 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 Allier town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −3% and the next six −3%.
34% of residents are 65 or over, a share 92% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Dompierre-sur-Besbre 54.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 8.9%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
19% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 79% 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 Allier median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2 people on average. Few places have as many one-person households: 40% here, more than in 69% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Dompierre-sur-Besbre: 14% of homes stand empty, above 94% 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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 11%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 26%. On households in social housing, Dompierre-sur-Besbre sits higher than 75% of compared French towns: 19%. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. The figure for second homes is 4.5% in Dompierre-sur-Besbre and 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €24,090 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 €24,090 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 70% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 13.0% of residents are below the line.
Only 3.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Dompierre-sur-Besbre
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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Dompierre-sur-Besbre, 18%. The share of households headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 67% of compared French towns, at 4.6%
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.
About one in 29: that is how common foreign nationals are in Dompierre-sur-Besbre (3.4%). As a yardstick, 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 Dompierre-sur-Besbre, 22% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 81% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Dompierre-sur-Besbre has 46%. Set beside that, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Dompierre-sur-Besbre ranks below 96% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 16%
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 adults with no qualification (31%), Dompierre-sur-Besbre is above 93% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 2,923 to 2,989
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Gorcy is the youngest (40.5); Vimoutiers the oldest (60.1).
Older than Dompierre-sur-Besbre: 1 of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre | 54.3 | 34% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Bourbon-Lancy 4,674 · 8.1 mi | 57.2 | 39% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Digoin 7,353 · 15.3 mi | 53.9 | 34% | 1.9% | 15% |
| Yzeure 12,897 · 15.8 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.4% | 6.4% |
| Moulins 19,206 · 16.9 mi | 43.9 | 25% | 4.3% | 9.9% |
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 Dompierre-sur-Besbre
What is the population of Dompierre-sur-Besbre?
2,959 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (3,128).
How old are Dompierre-sur-Besbre’s residents?
The median age is 54.3, older than 93% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dompierre-sur-Besbre?
81, with occasional dwellings: 4.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dompierre-sur-Besbre?
INSEE counts 140 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.6% of residents, and 99 foreign nationals (3.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dompierre-sur-Besbre?
€24,090 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.0% 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 9, 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.