Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Bellac is over 58.2
In Bellac, nearly one in ten homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town. At 3.7%, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is lower than in 94% of compared French towns. There were 1,890 households in the town at the 2023 Census, home to 3,537 residents. The census found that 25% of households have no car here.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Vienne 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 Bellac
An older town
Half of Bellac’s residents are under 58.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 39% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bellac had 4,211 residents at the 2012 census and 3,537 in 2023, down 16%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
53% of Bellac’s households are one person: higher than in 97% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 420 homes empty (17%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −16% since 2012 leaves Bellac behind 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +1% in Haute-Vienne. Here the change came as −10% to 2017, then −7% to 2023.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of compared French towns, at 39%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bellac 58.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Here nearly one in ten residents are 15 to 24, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. The usual figure: 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: Haute-Vienne 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Bellac, 10% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 99% 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 Haute-Vienne median and the France median
Living alone · share
53% of households are one person living alone, against 35% in the typical compared French town. At 7.7%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 83% of compared French towns. Couples with children: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Households average 1.7 people.
More empty homes than 97% of compared French towns: 17%
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 (median compared French town: 11%). Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. In Bellac, nearly a fifth of households rent social housing (HLM).
The middle resident’s standard of living: €21,700 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 Bellac is €21,700 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 90% of compared French towns. 24.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
Bellac ranks above 97% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 49%
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
Households headed by a manual worker: 12% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
6.7% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 68% of compared French towns don’t reach
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.
7.9% of residents are immigrants (typical compared French town: 6.5%). In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%. The median compared commune in Haute-Vienne has 4.5%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 60% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 35% in Bellac, less than in 91% 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
29% of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification make up 31% in Bellac, more than in 93% 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
18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification (typical compared French town: 30%). The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
Among 41 French towns of 3,519 to 3,554 people, the 4th 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.
Rubelles is the youngest (34.9); Deauville the oldest (63.3).
No nearby town is as old as Bellac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellac | 58.2 | 39% | 8.1% | 7.9% |
| Oradour-sur-Glane 2,550 · 13.2 mi | 44.8 | 25% | 3.4% | 2.6% |
| Bessines-sur-Gartempe 2,709 · 14.8 mi | 51.5 | 29% | 8.6% | 3.7% |
| Saint-Junien 11,415 · 17.4 mi | 49.9 | 29% | 3.5% | 4.5% |
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 Bellac
What is the population of Bellac?
3,537 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% fewer than in 2012 (4,211).
How old are Bellac’s residents?
The median age is 58.2, older than 97% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 39% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bellac?
200, with occasional dwellings: 8.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bellac?
INSEE counts 280 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.9% of residents, and 240 foreign nationals (6.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bellac?
€21,700 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.0% 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 9, 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.