Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Le Béage is over 57.2
Set against 10% in the typical compared French town, 4.2% of households are single parents in Le Béage. 46% of households are headed by a retired person. Lower than in 83% of compared French towns: 5.7% of households rent social housing (HLM). The town had 254 residents in 120 households at the 2023 census.
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 Le Béage
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 140 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Béage, 45% of its 310 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 91% 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 Le Béage’s residents are under 57.2 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
Le Béage had 285 residents at the 2012 census and 254 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 51 homes empty (16%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A town of second homes: 45% of its 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
Against a figure of 6.7% in the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes in Le Béage comes in at 16%. Flats account for 13%. 14% of households have no car, a higher share than in 64% of compared French towns. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Slower than most: −11% since 2012, behind 98% 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
Le Béage ranks below 98% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 6.6%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Béage 57.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 22% in the typical compared French town, 34% of residents are 65 or over here. The wider picture: 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardèche 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Above 76% of compared French towns: 42% 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 Ardèche median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.1 people on average. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 21%, fewer than in 71% of compared French towns. Against that, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Median living standard: €19,190 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 €19,190 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 98% of compared French towns.
The largest group of households: retired (46%)
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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0% of residents in Le Béage 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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Above 80% of compared French towns: 30% of residents 15 and over are single
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
On the census count, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
In Le Béage, 17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 93% 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
Adults with no qualification: 26% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 5th oldest of 41 French towns of 254 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Of the 6 towns nearest Le Béage, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Béage | 57.2 | 34% | 45% | 0% |
| Coubon 3,140 · 14.6 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 4.5% | 2% |
| Saint-Germain-Laprade 3,432 · 15.2 mi | 47.9 | 23% | 3.7% | 2.2% |
| Le Cheylard 2,803 · 15.5 mi | 56.8 | 38% | 8.3% | 2.2% |
| Langogne 2,836 · 15.7 mi | 52 | 32% | 18% | 5.7% |
| Brives-Charensac 4,244 · 16.7 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.3% | 5.7% |
| Le Chambon-sur-Lignon 2,501 · 17.2 mi | 57.9 | 38% | 36% | 5.9% |
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 Le Béage
What is the population of Le Béage?
254 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (285).
How old are Le Béage’s residents?
The median age is 57.2, older than 97% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Béage?
140, with occasional dwellings: 45% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Béage?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Béage?
€19,190 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.