Couples with children make up 39% in Barbières, more than in 98% of compared French towns
Half of Barbières’s residents are under 39.4, younger than in just over four fifths of compared French towns. There were 450 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 1,143 residents. Households without a car account for 3.4%. Set against 32% in the typical compared French town, 18% of households are headed by a retired person in the town.
Throughout this page, the Drôme 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 Barbières
A town of families
39% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 25% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Barbières had 961 residents at the 2012 census and 1,143 in 2023, up 19%: faster growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A growing town: +19% since 2012, faster than 89% 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 Drôme town changed +8% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +10% and the next six +8%.
13% of residents are 65 or over, below 96% 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
■ Barbières 39.4. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Barbières has 8.2%. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 95% of compared French towns: 24%
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 Drôme median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Barbières has 11%. Against that, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.6 people each.
In Barbières, 11% of homes are flats, fewer than in 84% of compared French towns
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
Nearly one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) (typical compared French town: 12%). Here, 5.7% of homes stand empty. On second homes, Barbières sits higher than 63% of compared French towns: 3.1%. The usual figure: 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €26,010 a year in standard of living
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.
Half of Barbières’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €26,010 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 50% of compared French towns.
Barbières sits above 78% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (16%)
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
By its share of households headed by a manual worker (17%), Barbières is above 67% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Barbières ranks below 90% of compared French towns on foreign nationals: 1.2%
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.
6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town, against 3.3% in Barbières. Set beside that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
A smaller share of single residents than 97% of compared French towns: 19%
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 residents: 47%, above 77% of compared French towns. On average, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Barbières sits above 75% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (38%)
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
14% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
2nd lowest median age among 41 French towns of 1,143 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).
Barbières is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbières | 39.4 | 13% | 3.1% | 3.3% |
| Chatuzange-le-Goubet 6,523 · 4.9 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 1.8% | 3.2% |
| Montélier 4,323 · 6 mi | 46.5 | 25% | 0.7% | 4.1% |
| Alixan 2,729 · 6.3 mi | 39.7 | 15% | 2.2% | 3.6% |
| Bourg-de-Péage 9,921 · 6.8 mi | 46.4 | 25% | 0.7% | 8.3% |
| Chabeuil 6,833 · 7.1 mi | 46.9 | 24% | 2.8% | 3.5% |
| Romans-sur-Isère 33,464 · 7.6 mi | 45 | 25% | 1.8% | 13% |
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 Barbières
What is the population of Barbières?
1,143 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% more than in 2012 (961).
How old are Barbières’ residents?
The median age is 39.4, younger than 82% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Barbières?
15, with occasional dwellings: 3.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Barbières?
INSEE counts 38 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.3% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Barbières?
€26,010 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.