Only 1.4% of homes are flats in Ballans
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census counted 201 residents in 94 households. About one in 18: that is how common single-parent households are in Ballans (5.6%). By its share of households without a car (7.4%), Ballans is below 70% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Charente-Maritime 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 Ballans
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 29 second homes and occasional dwellings in Ballans, 21% of its 140 homes: higher than in 93% 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 ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ballans had 217 residents at the 2012 census and 201 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 18 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
21% of homes in Ballans 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
One household in 14 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Here, 13% of homes stand empty. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Ballans changed by −7% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 94% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −9%, and from 2017 to 2023 +2%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
Ballans is older than 73% of compared French towns: a median age of 47.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ballans 47.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 25% here and 22% in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 11: 8.9% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
Ballans sits below 86% of compared French towns for one-person households (28%)
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 Charente-Maritime median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2.1 people. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. More couples with children than in 64% of compared French towns: 28%.
Median living standard: €25,920 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €25,920 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 51% of compared French towns.
22% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 91% 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
For Ballans, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 33%. On average, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Ballans, 7.9% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 74% 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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 65% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Charente-Maritime has 3.1%. Typically, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The census found that nearly one in ten residents are immigrants in Ballans.
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 85% 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: 48%; in a PACS: 4.4%; against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town, with 7.2% widowed. To put it in context, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In Ballans, 13% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 84% 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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, against 27% in Ballans. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
Ranked by age, 15th 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).
Around Ballans, 5 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballans | 47.8 | 25% | 21% | 8.9% |
| Rouillac 2,919 · 7.8 mi | 49.3 | 30% | 5.7% | 2.6% |
| Val-de-Cognac 3,471 · 8.2 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Jarnac 4,486 · 9.3 mi | 52.5 | 33% | 3.8% | 4.5% |
| Cognac 18,532 · 9.8 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 2.8% | 6.3% |
| Châteaubernard 3,878 · 10.2 mi | 49.5 | 29% | 1.9% | 4.8% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Angély 6,784 · 16.9 mi | 56 | 36% | 4.6% | 4.5% |
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 Ballans
What is the population of Ballans?
201 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (217).
How old are Ballans’ residents?
The median age is 47.8, older than 73% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ballans?
29, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ballans?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.9% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (7.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ballans?
€25,920 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.