In Bernay, 14% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 94% of compared French towns
Residents aged 65 and over: 29%, above 82% of compared French towns. For Bernay, the census puts households in social housing at 25%. Households without a car are more common here than in 92% of compared French towns. 9,765 residents in 5,270 households: that is Bernay at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Eure 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 Bernay
Many people living alone
53% of Bernay’s households are one person: higher than in 97% of compared French towns; 43% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bernay had 10,399 residents at the 2012 census and 9,765 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bernay changed by −6% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 91% 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
Here the change came as −3% to 2017, then −3% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Eure.
Bernay is older than 80% of compared French towns: a median age of 49.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bernay 49.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 12%, against 11% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Eure 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
53% of households are one person living alone, a share 97% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Eure median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 1.8 people on average. Against that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 52% of compared French towns: 10% of households are single parents.
Bernay: 9.7% of homes stand empty, above 77% 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
One household in four has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Across the comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. In Bernay, 48% of homes are flats. Second homes are more common here than in 73% of compared French towns.
€23,080 a year is the median standard of living here
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,080 a year: lower than in 81% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 22.0%.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 78% of compared French towns: 38%
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
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Bernay has 17%. Compared with other places, households headed by a manager or professional are scarce here: 8.1%, fewer than in nearly three fifths of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 4.5% of residents are immigrants in Bernay
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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 68% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Eure has 4.6%. Across the comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 30: 3.3% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
31% of residents 15 and over are married, below 97% 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
Single residents: 32%, above 86% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
In Bernay, 30% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 91% 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
23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (9,596 to 9,945 people), the 9th 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 Montlhéry (34.7), the oldest Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque (54.6).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 2 are older than Bernay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernay | 49.2 | 29% | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Mesnil-en-Ouche 4,414 · 7.9 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 19% | 2.3% |
| Beaumont-le-Roger 2,769 · 8.2 mi | 48 | 26% | 5% | 3.3% |
| Brionne 4,185 · 9.1 mi | 45.9 | 27% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Le Neubourg 4,199 · 14.7 mi | 52.3 | 33% | 1.8% | 1.7% |
| Lisieux 19,645 · 16.7 mi | 47 | 28% | 2.1% | 6.2% |
| La Ferté-en-Ouche 2,938 · 17.1 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 17% | 3% |
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 Bernay
What is the population of Bernay?
9,765 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (10,399).
How old are Bernay’s residents?
The median age is 49.2, older than 80% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bernay?
270, with occasional dwellings: 4.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bernay?
INSEE counts 440 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 320 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bernay?
€23,080 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.