Half of Besse is over 57.3, older than 97% of compared French towns
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Besse has 5.1%. 136 residents in 63 households: that is Besse at the 2023 Census. Households headed by a retired person account for 54%. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 15%, fewer than in 90% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Cantal 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 Besse
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 28 second homes and occasional dwellings in Besse, 29% of its 96 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 96% 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 Besse’s residents are under 57.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.9% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 29% of homes are second 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
Empty homes: 5.4% here and 6.7% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%. The census found that nearly one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in Besse. Fewer households without a car than in 70% of compared French towns: 7.5%.
Besse grew +8% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 63% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −3% in Cantal. Here the change came as ±0% to 2017, then +8% to 2023.
4.8% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% 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
■ Besse 57.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 22% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Besse comes in at 37%. For comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Cantal 53.4%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 7.7%, a lower share than 83% 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 Cantal median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.2 people on average. Single-parent households make up 10% in the typical compared French town. One-person households are rarer here than in 73% of compared French towns.
€23,490 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €23,490 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
7.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 62% of compared French towns
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Besse has 15%. To put it in context, 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).
Besse ranks below 97% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1.4%
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.
The median compared commune in Cantal has 3.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 97% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Foreign nationals: 0.7% of the total.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
19% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 95% 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
By its share of married residents (47%), Besse is above 79% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Besse ranks below 84% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 21%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification here. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (136 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Besse
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besse | 57.3 | 37% | 29% | 1.4% |
| Mauriac 3,449 · 8.5 mi | 56.8 | 37% | 8.1% | 3.1% |
| Aurillac 26,214 · 12.9 mi | 48.4 | 28% | 4.6% | 6.7% |
| Ytrac 4,339 · 12.9 mi | 48.3 | 25% | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| Arpajon-sur-Cère 6,361 · 14.9 mi | 49.8 | 26% | 4.4% | 2% |
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 Besse
What is the population of Besse?
136 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (126).
How old are Besse’s residents?
The median age is 57.3, older than 97% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Besse?
28, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Besse?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Besse?
€23,490 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.