In Bessas, 42% of homes are second homes, more than in 96% of compared French towns
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 5.9% of residents are 15 to 24 in Bessas. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census Bessas was home to 234 people in 120 households. Here, 4.5% of homes are flats.
Throughout this page, the Ardèche 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 Bessas
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 92 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bessas, 42% of its 220 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Bessas’ residents are under 52.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Bessas had 192 residents at the 2012 census and 234 in 2023, up 22%: faster growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 1.7% of households have no car in Bessas
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
Turnover: 11% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 13% have lived in their home 30 years or more. On empty homes, Bessas sits lower than 62% of compared French towns: 5.9%.
From 2012 to 2023, Bessas outgrew 92% of compared French towns: +22%
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 Ardèche town +4%. The change was +13% from 2012 to 2017 and +8% from 2017 to 2023.
Older than 91% of compared French towns: half of Bessas is over 52.9
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bessas 52.9. The median compared French town: 44.
32% of Bessas’ residents are 65 or older, against 27% in the median Ardèche town and 22% in the median compared French town; 16% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 18% of households are single parents
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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2 people. Couples with children are rarer here than in 82% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. 37% of households are one person living alone, or about one in three.
Median living standard: €20,830 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.
Half of Bessas’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,830 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 94% of compared French towns.
Bessas sits below 97% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (4.5%)
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
Nearly a quarter of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 9% of households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 71% of compared French towns: 7.3% of residents are foreign nationals
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.
6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 8.1% in Bessas. That is higher than in 61% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ardèche has 9.3%. In the typical compared French town, foreign nationals come to 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents: 21%, a lower share than 86% 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
Lower than in 51% of compared French towns: 43% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Adults with no qualification make up 17% in Bessas, less than in 61% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%; Bessas has 28%. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
The 8th oldest of 41 French towns of 234 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).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Bessas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessas | 52.9 | 32% | 42% | 8.1% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 7.7 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 9.6 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Bessèges 2,606 · 10.4 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| Rousson 4,456 · 13.1 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| Salindres 3,648 · 13.5 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 2.2% | 4% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 14.8 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
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 Bessas
What is the population of Bessas?
234 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 22% more than in 2012 (192).
How old are Bessas’ residents?
The median age is 52.9, older than 91% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bessas?
92, with occasional dwellings: 42% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bessas?
INSEE counts 19 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.1% of residents, and 17 foreign nationals (7.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bessas?
€20,830 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.