Barzan is older than 99% of compared French towns: a median age of 63.1
Households headed by a retired person: 53% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. Barzan counted 475 residents and 220 households at the 2023 Census. Here, 1.9% of households have no car. Lower than in 98% of compared French towns: 3.6% of homes are flats.
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 Barzan
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 120 second homes and occasional dwellings in Barzan, 32% of its 370 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 97% 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 Barzan’s residents are under 63.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 47% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 20% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Barzan sits above 95% of compared French towns for second homes (32%)
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
6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, against 9% in Barzan. At the same time, households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
A +2% change since 2012: slower than 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
The median Charente-Maritime town changed +8% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +1% and the next six +1%.
In Barzan, 47% of residents are 65 or over, more 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
■ Barzan 63.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 5.9%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 2.3%
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children in Barzan comes in at 21%. The wider picture: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Roughly four in ten: 40% of households are one person living alone.
€24,020 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 €24,020 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 7% in Barzan, less 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
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 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).
3.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 79% 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.
With foreign nationals at 2.7%, Barzan is behind 69% of compared French towns on that count. The median compared commune in Charente-Maritime has 3.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 79% of compared French towns. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Barzan sits below 70% of compared French towns for single residents (23%)
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
Higher than in 56% of compared French towns: 44% of residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 94% of compared French towns: 17%
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, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification; in Barzan, 26%. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 475 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Barzan (63.1).
2 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Barzan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barzan | 63.1 | 47% | 32% | 3.4% |
| Meschers-sur-Gironde 3,180 · 4.9 mi | 66.1 | 53% | 50% | 3.6% |
| Semussac 2,585 · 5.6 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 9.3% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Georges-de-Didonne 5,092 · 8 mi | 67.3 | 55% | 67% | 2.7% |
| Médis 3,157 · 9.1 mi | 56.7 | 36% | 8.7% | 3% |
| Gémozac 3,052 · 9.4 mi | 51.9 | 32% | 7.4% | 3.1% |
| Saujon 7,440 · 10.4 mi | 59.6 | 42% | 13% | 3.1% |
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 Barzan
What is the population of Barzan?
475 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (467).
How old are Barzan’s residents?
The median age is 63.1, older than 99% of compared French towns. 12% are under 18 and 47% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Barzan?
120, with occasional dwellings: 32% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Barzan?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Barzan?
€24,020 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.