A median age of 54.5: Jaligny-sur-Besbre is older than 93% of compared French towns
51% of households are headed by a retired person (typical compared French town: 32%). The census found that 17% of households are couples with children in Jaligny-sur-Besbre. On households in social housing, Jaligny-sur-Besbre sits lower than 91% of compared French towns: 3.7%. The 2023 Census counted 559 residents in 270 households.
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 Jaligny-sur-Besbre
One home in nine is a second home
The census counted 45 second homes and occasional dwellings in Jaligny-sur-Besbre, 11% of its 400 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 89% 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 Jaligny-sur-Besbre’s residents are under 54.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 35% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 12% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 91 homes empty (22%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Jaligny-sur-Besbre had 604 residents at the 2012 census and 559 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
In Jaligny-sur-Besbre, 22% of homes stand empty, more than in 99% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 26% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 8.5% (under two years). Jaligny-sur-Besbre has more second homes than 89% of compared French towns, at 11%. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. The share of households without a car trails 73% of compared French towns: 7%.
Since 2012, Jaligny-sur-Besbre has changed by −7%, slower than 94% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Allier town −1%.
In Jaligny-sur-Besbre, 35% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 94% 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
■ Jaligny-sur-Besbre 54.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.8%, below 94% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
40% of households are one person living alone, a share 69% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
There are 2 people in the average household. Single-parent households are more common here than in 64% of compared French towns. For comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
€23,550 a year is the median standard of living here
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 €23,550 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
Only 3.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Jaligny-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
The census found that 15% of households are headed by a manual worker in Jaligny-sur-Besbre. As a reference point, nearly one in ten 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).
Fewer immigrants than 75% of compared French towns: 3.7%
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.
Foreign nationals make up about one in 26 here (3.9%). As a reference point, 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.
22% of residents 15 and over are single, below 80% 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
The figure for married residents is 39% in Jaligny-sur-Besbre and 43% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Above 89% of compared French towns: 29% of adults out of school have no qualification
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
Nearly a fifth of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, against 30% in the typical compared French town.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 559 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Median age: 1 of the 6 towns around Jaligny-sur-Besbre 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaligny-sur-Besbre | 54.5 | 35% | 11% | 3.7% |
| Lapalisse 3,138 · 8.9 mi | 54.7 | 36% | 3% | 4.5% |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 10.1 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 0.9% | 9.6% |
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre 2,959 · 10.7 mi | 54.3 | 34% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Saint-Germain-des-Fossés 3,579 · 14.3 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 15.2 mi | 50.6 | 31% | 3.1% | 2% |
| Yzeure 12,897 · 17 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.4% | 6.4% |
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 Jaligny-sur-Besbre
What is the population of Jaligny-sur-Besbre?
559 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (604).
How old are Jaligny-sur-Besbre’s residents?
The median age is 54.5, older than 93% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 35% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Jaligny-sur-Besbre?
45, with occasional dwellings: 11% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Jaligny-sur-Besbre?
INSEE counts 21 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.7% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (3.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Jaligny-sur-Besbre?
€23,550 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 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.