The local economy does well: 1.8 jobs per working resident; 4.8% unemployment. Health is a strength: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 21% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. At the median price of €1,908/m², a 70 m² home costs 4.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération du Niortais. Most journeys need a car (C−): half of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 5% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi. Bessines has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
Each subject compares Bessines with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bessines.
Work & commuteJobs & income A+
Bessines is better off than Deux-Sèvres’ towns or compared French towns: the median disposable income is €32,580 a year per consumption unit
The unemployment rate comes to 4.8%. At the census, 5.3% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Deux-Sèvres’ towns (7.5%) and compared French towns (13.4%).
5%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving91%
Bicycle2%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
On foot1%
1,600
jobs based in Bessines, 1.8 per working resident
4.8%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€32,580
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
3%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C−
Walkability: better than 19% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth A−
Allowing for age and care homes, Bessines sees fewer deaths than Deux-Sèvres’ towns or compared French towns: 79 per 100 expected
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
9 GPs practise in Bessines. In Deux-Sèvres, women can expect to live 85.3 years and men 79.4 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. France’s death rates at each age would predict 141 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 111, 21% fewer.
−21%deaths against expected, after care homesA−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw79
Adjusted79
Median town88
Expected100
9
GPs in Bessines · 4.3 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
2.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Niort
2.8 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Niort
85.3 · 79.4
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Deux-Sèvres, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
93.5% of candidates passed the brevet at the three collèges within 5 km, 1.3 points above the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
At the lycées within 5 km of Bessines, 97.0% passed the bac, close to Deux-Sèvres’ towns (95.8%) and above compared French towns (92.9%). Collège pupils travel 2.2 mi to the nearest one.
97%passed the bac (general and technological)A−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HousingCost of living B
Bessines is graded a B for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €11.45/m² a month, above Deux-Sèvres’ towns (€9.89/m²) but below compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €1,908/m², comes from 61 sales of houses and apartments in Bessines from July 2023 to June 2026. Houses are advertised at an estimated €9.57/m² a month.
€1,908/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bessines€1,908/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Deux-Sèvres median€1,508/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,908/m²
61
€11.45/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.27 to €14.14/m² a month)
4.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€9.57/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€27,110
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération du Niortais
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Who lives here
Bessines is a graduates’ town: 44% hold a degree, more than in Deux-Sèvres’ towns or compared French towns
Those 65 and older account for 21% of residents. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 8.6% of residents, below both Deux-Sèvres’ towns (9.6%) and compared French towns (11%). Children under 15 count for 19% of the people here.
45.4median age
BessinesDeux-Sèvres medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
21%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma13%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat15%
Higher education44%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Deux-Sèvres 51.4%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Deux-Sèvres median and France median: the median of compared communes
Safety
Bessines has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average
Police and gendarmerie recorded 21 offenses in Bessines in 2025. The yearly rates for 2023–2025: 3.2 violent offenses and 13.7 graded property crimes per 1,000 residents. The town has 1,600 jobs for 900 working residents, so people come in from nearby communes to work. Among the graded crimes in the town, the most frequent was burglary (2025).
3.2recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year
Recorded by type · 2025
Burglary14
Criminal damage7
Armed robbery0
Drug use28
Theft without violence12
Fraud9
Not in the gradeTheft without violence, drug use and fraud are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
3.2
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.7
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
21
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
27.6%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of family violence, other physical violence, sexual violence, vehicle theft and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 27.6% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses. Crimes are counted in the commune where they happen, then divided by its residents, so a town that draws people in from around can look higher.
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bessines
Is Bessines safe?
Bessines has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 14 burglaries and 7 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Bessines good?
They grade A−, better than 75% of compared French towns. The lycée stands out: 98% of 394 candidates passed the bac at Lycée de la Venise Verte in 2025, a point above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bessines expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,908/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Bessines grades B for cost of living.
About Bessines
Commune in Deux-Sèvres, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bessines is a commune of 1,903 people in the Communauté d'agglomération du Niortais. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
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.
