Bessines-sur-Gartempe’s strongest is cost of living — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 2.8 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. It also does well on safety — an average of 6.2 recorded violent incidents and 8.5 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Schools lag (C): brevet results 3 points below the expected rate. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: a third of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 8% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. The overall grade lands at A−, better than 76% of compared French towns. That places it #11 of 19 in Haute-Vienne.
Figures: prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Bessines-sur-Gartempe with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bessines-sur-Gartempe.
HousingCost of living A+
Homes in Bessines-sur-Gartempe cost less than in both Haute-Vienne’s towns and compared French towns, with a median sale of €1,027/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
The estimated advertised rent is €9.04/m² a month, below both Haute-Vienne’s towns (€10.01/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses accounted for 93% of sales, apartments for the rest. Renting a house costs an estimated €8.91/m² a month.
€1,027/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Bessines-sur-Gartempe€1,027/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Haute-Vienne median€1,607/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,079/m²
79
€9.04/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€7.30 to €11.19/m² a month)
2.8
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€8.91/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,410
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté de communes Élan Limousin Avenir Nature
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Degrees are less common in Bessines-sur-Gartempe than in Haute-Vienne’s towns or across compared French towns: 21% of adults
Children under 15 make up 14%, lower than both Haute-Vienne’s towns (16%) and compared French towns (17%). 29% of residents are 65 or over. Aged 15 to 24: 7.5% of residents.
51.5median age
Bessines-sur-GartempeHaute-Vienne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
29%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma23%
CAP or BEP33%
Baccalauréat17%
Higher education21%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
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.
INSEE, census 2023 · Haute-Vienne median and France median: the median of compared communes
Work & commuteJobs & income B−
Incomes in Bessines-sur-Gartempe run lower than in both Haute-Vienne’s towns and compared French towns: a median €24,460 a year per consumption unit
Per resident in work, Bessines-sur-Gartempe counts 1.2 jobs (1,300 jobs, 1,100 workers). 7.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, above Haute-Vienne’s towns (7.3%) but below compared French towns (13.4%). Unemployment runs at 9.3%.
8%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving87%
On foot6%
Motorbike or scooter1%
Public transport1%
Bicycle0%
1,300
jobs based in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, 1.2 per working resident
9.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€24,460
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
4%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C
Walkability: better than 30% of compared French towns
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth C+
Bessines-sur-Gartempe is 20.8 mi from the nearest emergency department
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Weighed against its ages and care homes, Bessines-sur-Gartempe records 93 deaths per 100 expected. There are 4 general practitioners here. Also worth knowing: in Haute-Vienne, life expectancy at birth reaches 84.4 years for women and 79.8 for men (2025), next to 85.9 and 80.3 for France. 434 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 395: 10% above.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw110
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
4
GPs in Bessines-sur-Gartempe · 5.1 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
20.8 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Clinique Francois Chenieux
21.3 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Hopital de la Mere et de L Enfant
84.4 · 79.8
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Haute-Vienne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Bessines-sur-Gartempe keeps more of its old housing than Haute-Vienne’s towns or compared French towns: 20% built before 1919
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 13th century. The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Suzanne Valadon: Didier Descouens, Public domain · Marcel Sigrist: Claude Truong-Ngoc, CC BY 4.0 · Jean-André Périchon-Bey: Edouard Peyclit, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Félix Bret: Life Magazine 9 May 1939, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bessines-sur-Gartempe’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Bessines-sur-Gartempe
Is Bessines-sur-Gartempe safe?
It grades A− for safety, #13 of 19 in Haute-Vienne.
Are schools in Bessines-sur-Gartempe good?
They grade C, better than 31% of compared French towns and #10 of 17 in Haute-Vienne. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Bessines-sur-Gartempe expensive to live in?
Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Bessines-sur-Gartempe grades A+ for cost of living.
About Bessines-sur-Gartempe
Commune in Haute-Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bessines-sur-Gartempe is a commune of 2,709 people in the Communauté de communes Élan Limousin Avenir Nature. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Population
2,709 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality
Communauté de communes Élan Limousin Avenir Nature
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.
