Older than 92% of compared French towns: half of Besset is over 53.9
47% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. Besset had 163 residents in 79 households at the 2023 Census. For Besset, the census puts single-parent households at 6.7%. Fewer flats than in 99% of compared French towns: 2.2%.
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 Besset
An older town
Half of Besset’s residents are under 53.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Growth of +6% since 2012 puts Besset ahead of 55% 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 Ariège town +2%.
In Besset, 7% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 97% 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
■ Besset 53.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 29%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
33% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 59% 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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
The figure for couples with children is 27% in Besset and 25% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.1 people share a household.
A higher share of empty homes than 81% of compared French towns, at 10%
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 2.6% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 26%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The benchmark for empty homes in the typical compared French town: 6.7%. Second homes: 5.2% here and 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
Median living standard: €27,460 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.
At €27,460 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 66% of compared French towns.
20% of households are headed by a manager or professional, a share 88% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 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).
Foreign nationals: 2.5%, a lower share than 71% 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.
Against a figure of 6.5% in the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants in Besset comes in at 8.3%. Set beside that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 62% 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.
15% of residents 15 and over are single, below 99% 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 Besset, 49% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
A higher share of graduates of higher education than 83% of compared French towns, at 42%
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
The share of adults with no qualification is 15%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 7th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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).
Of the 6 towns nearest Besset, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besset | 53.9 | 29% | 5.2% | 8.3% |
| Mirepoix 3,172 · 1.6 mi | 55.1 | 35% | 13% | 10% |
| La Tour-du-Crieu 3,230 · 9.8 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 10.1 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Varilhes 3,487 · 11.1 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Saint-Jean-du-Falga 2,851 · 11.1 mi | 50 | 30% | 1.8% | 7.6% |
| Pamiers 16,473 · 11.9 mi | 39.8 | 21% | 2.7% | 13% |
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 Besset
What is the population of Besset?
163 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (154).
How old are Besset’s residents?
The median age is 53.9, older than 92% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Besset?
5, with occasional dwellings: 5.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Besset?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.3% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (2.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Besset?
€27,460 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.