Barnave sits above 95% of compared French towns for second homes (30%)
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Barnave counted 217 residents and 97 households at the 2023 Census. Locally, 4.1% of households have no car. In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24; locally, 4.6%.
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 Barnave
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 45 second homes and occasional dwellings in Barnave, 30% of its 150 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 91% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Barnave had 170 residents at the 2012 census and 217 in 2023, up 28%: faster growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
12% of homes are flats, fewer than in 83% 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for one in ten households, residents of 30 years or more for 15%. 4.7% of homes stand empty, a lower share than in 79% of compared French towns.
Since 2012, Barnave has grown +28%, faster than 96% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +16%, then +10% to 2023. Over those years, the median Drôme town changed +8% and the median compared French town +5%.
Only 18% of residents are 65 or over in Barnave
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Barnave 41.5. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 41.5, Barnave is younger than 69% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Drôme 51.8%, France 51.8%.
15% of households are single parents, more than in 95% 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 Drôme median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.2 people in the average household. Elsewhere, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 20%, fewer than in nearly three quarters of compared French towns. One-person households: 35%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town.
€21,240 a year: the median 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 Barnave’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €21,240 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 93% of compared French towns.
5% of households are headed by a manual worker, below 96% 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
The share of households headed by a retired person trails 64% of compared French towns: 30%. Against that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manager or professional come to 10% in Barnave, about one in ten.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Barnave: 5.6% 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.
Lower than in 58% of compared French towns: 5.6% of residents are immigrants. The census found that 4.2% of residents are foreign nationals in Barnave.
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 married residents than 91% of compared French towns: 35%
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
Single residents make up about one in four here (26%). To put it in context, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Barnave, 11% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 92% 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
45% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. As a reference point, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 7th youngest of 41 French towns of 217 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
No nearby town is as young as Barnave
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnave | 41.5 | 18% | 30% | 5.6% |
| Die 4,844 · 6.6 mi | 50.6 | 29% | 11% | 6.7% |
| Aouste-sur-Sye 2,733 · 16 mi | 46 | 24% | 3.7% | 4% |
| Dieulefit 3,289 · 17.8 mi | 58 | 39% | 18% | 7.2% |
| Crest 8,658 · 17.9 mi | 46.7 | 28% | 3.9% | 6.5% |
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 Barnave
What is the population of Barnave?
217 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 28% more than in 2012 (170).
How old are Barnave’s residents?
The median age is 41.5, younger than 69% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Barnave?
45, with occasional dwellings: 30% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Barnave?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.6% of residents, and 9 foreign nationals (4.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Barnave?
€21,240 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.