Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette is older than 99% of compared French towns: a median age of 62.2
A quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town, against 12% in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette. Households headed by a retired person: three fifths of the total. Empty homes are more common here than in 89% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 235 residents and 130 households here.
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 61 second homes and occasional dwellings in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette, 28% of its 220 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 Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette’s residents are under 62.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 43% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette had 254 residents at the 2012 census and 235 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 0 immigrants in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 16% of residents, against 4.8% for the median compared commune in Charente. 15% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 28% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Across Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette, 7% of households have no car.
Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette 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
The median Charente town changed +1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −19% and the next six +14%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 43% in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette, more than in 98% 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
■ Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette 62.2. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette has 4.3%. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
40% of households are one person living alone, more than in 69% 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 Charente median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The average household has 1.8 people. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone.
A median of €21,050 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €21,050 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 93% of compared French towns.
Below 87% of compared French towns: 8% of households are headed by a manual worker
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 manager or professional is 9.4%; Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette has 8%. Across the comparison, 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).
Immigrants: 16%, a higher share than 87% 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.
By its share of foreign nationals (15%), Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette is above 92% of compared French towns. 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.
13% 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
Where 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette has 49%. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Graduates of higher education make up 20% in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette, less than in 86% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 25% in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
Of 41 French towns its size (235 to 2,582 people), the 2nd 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).
No nearby town is as old as Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette | 62.2 | 43% | 28% | 16% |
| Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure 3,111 · 7.7 mi | 52 | 32% | 2.5% | 4.7% |
| Terres-de-Haute-Charente 3,777 · 10.4 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 5.1% | 7.6% |
| Ruffec 3,449 · 11.2 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 4.9% | 10% |
| La Rochefoucauld-en-Angoumois 4,025 · 12.9 mi | 53.8 | 34% | 4.5% | 2.9% |
| Brie 4,125 · 14.7 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 1.2% | 1.6% |
| Confolens 2,730 · 15.3 mi | 58.2 | 39% | 8.8% | 11% |
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 Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette
What is the population of Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette?
235 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (254).
How old are Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette’s residents?
The median age is 62.2, older than 99% of compared French towns. 9.8% are under 18 and 43% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette?
61, with occasional dwellings: 28% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette?
INSEE counts 37 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 16% of residents, and 36 foreign nationals (15%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette?
€21,050 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.