A larger share of second homes than 95% of compared French towns: 28%
Households headed by a manual worker make up 5.9%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households make up about one in six here (18%). Empty homes are more common here than in 78% of compared French towns. Bénac’s 83 households held 173 residents at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Ariège 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 Bénac
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 38 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bénac, 28% of its 130 homes: higher than in 95% 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 Bénac’s residents are under 52.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
3.7% of homes are flats, fewer than in 98% 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 in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. About one in 14: that is how common households without a car are in Bénac (7.1%).
A +2% change since 2012: slower than 60% 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
Bénac is older than 90% of compared French towns: a median age of 52.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bénac 52.8. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over; in Bénac, 29%. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 9.6%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Fewer couples with children than 59% of compared French towns: 24%
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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.1 people. Just over a third of households are one person living alone, a higher share than in 51% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
A median of €23,990 a year per consumption unit
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 €23,990 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
Above 84% of compared French towns: 18% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, 29% of households are headed by a retired person here. On average, 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).
Immigrants make up 4.5% in Bénac, less than in 68% of compared French towns
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.
Census figures put foreign nationals at 3.4% in Bénac. For comparison, 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.
Single residents make up 24% in Bénac, less than in 60% 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
Married residents: 43% of the total. Set beside that, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Bénac ranks below 98% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 8.6%
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, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Bénac, 38%. Across the comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 173 to 2,582 people, the 8th 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).
No nearby town is as old as Bénac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bénac | 52.8 | 29% | 28% | 4.5% |
| Foix 9,934 · 4 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 8 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 8.6 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 10 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 11.8 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 11.9 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
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 Bénac
What is the population of Bénac?
173 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (169).
How old are Bénac’s residents?
The median age is 52.8, older than 90% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bénac?
38, with occasional dwellings: 28% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bénac?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (3.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bénac?
€23,990 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.