Single-parent households make up 3.1% in Bécherel, less than in 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Bécherel has 25%. More second homes than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 5.5%. Census day 2023: 677 residents and 320 households in the town. Here, 13% of households have no car.
Throughout this page, the Ille-et-Vilaine 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 Bécherel
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bécherel had 745 residents at the 2012 census and 677 in 2023, down 9%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
48% of Bécherel’s households are one person: higher than in 91% of compared French towns; 24% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 46 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bécherel changed by −9% from 2012 to 2023, slower 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
The change was −10% from 2012 to 2017 and +1% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Ille-et-Vilaine town +15%.
Half of Bécherel is over 46.7, older than 68% 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
■ Bécherel 46.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Here, 10% of residents are 15 to 24. In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Bécherel has 23%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ille-et-Vilaine 51.2%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 91% of compared French towns: 48%
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 Ille-et-Vilaine median and the France median
Living alone · share
Couples with children make up 22%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Households average 2 people.
A higher share of empty homes than 88% of compared French towns, at 12%
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
Car-free households: one in seven, where the median compared French town has 11%. Households in social housing account for 13%. Against that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
€23,180 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 €23,180 a year: lower than in 80% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 60% of compared French towns, at 34%
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
Just over one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional (typical compared French town: 9.4%). The wider picture: nearly a third 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).
Below 96% of compared French towns: 0.9% of residents are foreign nationals
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: 2.3% here and 6.5% in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 88% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ille-et-Vilaine has 3.7%. The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
34% of residents 15 and over are married, below 93% 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
The share of single residents tops 73% of compared French towns: 29%. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification make up 22% in Bécherel, more than in 67% 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
The share of graduates of higher education stands at 30%. The wider picture: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 677 to 2,582 people: this is the 18th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Bécherel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bécherel | 46.7 | 23% | 5.5% | 2.3% |
| Tinténiac 3,939 · 5.4 mi | 42 | 20% | 2.1% | 2.3% |
| Romillé 4,189 · 5.9 mi | 39.2 | 16% | 1.4% | 2.6% |
| Saint-Domineuc 2,619 · 6 mi | 41.5 | 18% | 3.5% | 1.7% |
| Pleumeleuc 3,543 · 7.9 mi | 38.5 | 13% | 1.4% | 1.8% |
| Bédée 4,662 · 8.1 mi | 39.8 | 16% | 1.1% | 2.6% |
| Montauban-de-Bretagne 6,597 · 8.2 mi | 41.4 | 20% | 1.8% | 3.1% |
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 Bécherel
What is the population of Bécherel?
677 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% fewer than in 2012 (745).
How old are Bécherel’s residents?
The median age is 46.7, older than 68% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bécherel?
21, with occasional dwellings: 5.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bécherel?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.3% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bécherel?
€23,180 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 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.