Photo: Georgestib · CC0Older than 98% of compared French towns: half of Bessèges is over 59.4
The figure for couples with children is 11% in Bessèges and 25% in the typical compared French town. By contrast, half of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 97% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 2,606 residents here, living in 1,360 households. Census figures put second homes at 9.6% in the town.
Throughout this page, the Gard 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 Bessèges
An older town
Half of Bessèges’ residents are under 59.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 15% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bessèges had 3,051 residents at the 2012 census and 2,606 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
52% of Bessèges’ households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 37% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 470 homes empty (23%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bessèges’s population moved −15% on 2012, less than in 99% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +7% for the median Gard town, the change came in two steps: −7% from 2012 to 2017, then −8% to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over: 40%, a higher share than 98% 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
■ Bessèges 59.4. The median compared French town: 44.
6.7% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Gard 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
More one-person households than 96% of compared French towns: 52%
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 Gard median and the France median
Living alone · share
By its share of single-parent households (12%), Bessèges is above 73% of compared French towns. There are 1.8 people in the average household. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
23% of homes stand empty, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 23% in Bessèges. As a yardstick, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Flats account for 57%. Compared with other places, households in social housing are common here: 13%, more than in 52% of compared French towns.
A typical living standard of €18,710 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 Bessèges is €18,710 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 98% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 36.0%.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns, at 0.7%
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
Here 7.3% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. 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).
Fewer immigrants than 67% of compared French towns: 4.7%
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.
The median compared commune in Gard has 6.6%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in two thirds of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. For Bessèges, the census puts foreign nationals at 2.7%.
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 80% of compared French towns: 38%
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Bessèges comes in at 27%. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Only 15% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Bessèges
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 31%, 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.
Among 41 French towns of 2,582 to 2,630 people, the 2nd 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.
Bourguébus is the youngest (34.6); Longeville-sur-Mer the oldest (62.9).
Every neighbor is younger than Bessèges
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessèges | 59.4 | 40% | 9.6% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Ambroix 3,445 · 5.4 mi | 56.1 | 37% | 7.8% | 5% |
| La Grand-Combe 4,783 · 6.4 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1% | 11% |
| Rousson 4,456 · 7.8 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| Les Vans 2,662 · 7.9 mi | 58.6 | 39% | 25% | 8.7% |
| Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers 3,533 · 8 mi | 47.4 | 25% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Salindres 3,648 · 8.9 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 2.2% | 4% |
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 Bessèges
What is the population of Bessèges?
2,606 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (3,051).
How old are Bessèges’ residents?
The median age is 59.4, older than 98% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bessèges?
190, with occasional dwellings: 9.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bessèges?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.7% of residents, and 71 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bessèges?
€18,710 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 36.0% 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 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.