A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.7%
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 18% of households are couples with children in Beffes. Residents aged 65 and over account for 29%. At 3.2%, the share of flats is lower than in 98% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 602 residents and 300 households here.
Throughout this page, the Cher 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 Beffes
Fewer residents than in 2012
Beffes had 684 residents at the 2012 census and 602 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 48 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.
−12% since 2012: slower than 98% 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 Cher town changed −4% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −6% and the next six −6%.
Beffes is older than 85% of compared French towns: a median age of 50.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Beffes 50.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails just over four fifths of compared French towns: 9%.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Cher 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Beffes ranks above 76% of compared French towns on one-person households: 42%
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 Cher median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2 people. Single-parent households are more common here than in 74% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Beffes sits above 91% of compared French towns for empty homes (13%)
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
Of all households, 7.7% moved in during the last two years and 26% have stayed three decades or more. As a reference point, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Beffes has more second homes than 83% of compared French towns, at 6.9%. 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, against 16% here.
A typical living standard of €24,510 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 median standard of living in Beffes is €24,510 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 66% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 96% of compared French towns: 25%
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
With households headed by a retired person at 38%, Beffes is ahead of 76% of compared French towns on that count. Households headed by a manual worker make up 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 90% of compared French towns: 2.2% of residents are immigrants
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 1.2% in Beffes. Elsewhere, 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.
Only 39% of residents 15 and over are married in Beffes
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
Beffes has fewer single residents than just over half of compared French towns, at 25%. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 15% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Beffes
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 29%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
13th highest median age among 41 French towns of 602 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Of the 6 towns nearest Beffes, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beffes | 50.5 | 29% | 6.9% | 2.2% |
| Garchizy 3,648 · 5.6 mi | 45 | 23% | 1.4% | 3.9% |
| La Charité-sur-Loire 4,705 · 6.1 mi | 54 | 36% | 6.7% | 5.7% |
| Fourchambault 3,992 · 6.3 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 1.2% | 6.3% |
| Marzy 3,623 · 8.2 mi | 49.1 | 25% | 1.5% | 4.5% |
| Varennes-Vauzelles 9,146 · 8.4 mi | 53.7 | 34% | 1.1% | 6.1% |
| Guérigny 2,505 · 9 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 2.8% | 1.5% |
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 Beffes
What is the population of Beffes?
602 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (684).
How old are Beffes’ residents?
The median age is 50.5, older than 85% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Beffes?
26, with occasional dwellings: 6.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Beffes?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.2% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Beffes?
€24,510 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.