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BesseIsère

A town of 154 in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Population

154

INSEE, census 2023 · commune

Rent

€11.99

per m² a month · apartments · estimated advertised rents · median of compared French towns €12.41/m²

Walk, cycle, transit

15%

of working residents · median of compared French towns 13%

Is Besse a good place to live?

Besse is too small to grade: French towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents.

What makes Besse stand out

The 2 things Besse does most differently from other towns.

Picked automatically from the data

Second homes, share of all homes

Homes

59% are second homes

of all homes, against 2% in the median compared French town

Source: INSEE, census 2023.

Residents 65 and over

Who lives here

49% are 65 or over

of residents, against 22% in the median compared French town

Median age 64. Source: INSEE, census 2023.

Besse’s outline. No photo of the town is in our collection yet.

Besse’s story

No historic monuments in Besse

The Culture ministry lists no building in Besse as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.

The nearest classé monument is Centrale hydroélectrique des Vernes, in Livet-et-Gavet, 12.2 mi away.

Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2013.

21% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.

2013The protected historic area is created

Explore the history →

The data

Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Besse.

Who lives here

An older town: 49% of people in Besse are 65 or over, more than in both Isère’s towns and compared French towns

Graduates make up just over a fifth of adults. People aged 15 to 24 make up 5.4% of the town, below both Isère’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (11%). Under-15s account for 3.4% of the population.

64median age

BesseIsère medianFrance median

Isère medianFrance median

Ages · share of residents

49%

Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education

No diploma20%

CAP or BEP28%

Baccalauréat23%

Higher education21%

Women and men · all residents

47% women, 53% men

About 115 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.

Ages and diplomas in Besse
	Besse	Isère median	France median
Under 15	3.4%	18%	17%
15–24	5.4%	11%	11%
25–44	14%	23%	23%
45–64	28%	26%	26%
65+	49%	21%	22%
No diploma	20%	19%	19%
CAP or BEP	28%	24%	26%
Baccalauréat	23%	18%	18%
Higher education	21%	33%	30%

Full pageBesse’s Who lives here pageOpen the page

Ages64 median age · 49% are 65 or over Households100 households · 1.6 people per household Born abroad0.7% immigrants · Born abroad, not French at birth Questions“What is the population of Besse?”

INSEE, census 2023 · Isère median and France median: the median of compared communes

Work & commute

Besse has fewer jobs than residents in work: 0.2 for each

8.8% of people in the labour force have no job. Public transport took 5.6% of Besse’s working residents to work at the census.

15%walk, cycle or take transit

How working residents got to work · census 2023

Driving74%

On foot7%

Public transport6%

Bicycle2%

Motorbike or scooter0%

jobs based in Besse, 0.2 per working resident

8.8%

unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%

11%

worked without traveling (at or from home)

Full pageBesse’s work & commute pageOpen the page

Getting to work15% walk, cycle or take transit Jobs based here0.2 per working resident

Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte

Housing

The estimated advertised rent of an apartment in Besse is €11.99/m² a month

Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.

Renting a house costs an estimated €10.85/m² a month. The market in Besse: 8 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.

€11.99/m²estimated apartment rent a month

Estimated advertised apartment rent per m² a month

Besse€11.99/m²

Median of towns€12.41/m²

Isère median€13.13/m²

€11.99/m²

estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€9.66 to €14.88/m² a month)

€10.85/m²

estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included

Full pageBesse’s cost of living pageOpen the page

Renting€11.99/m² a month · Estimated advertised apartment rent

Source: Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Besse

12pages on Besse

The big questions

Health0 GPs · nearest emergency department 5.4 mi away Work & commute0 jobs based here Housing8 sales on record, the last three years Flood & hazards

Out and about

Outdoors100% of the commune is protected nature AttractionsOne place to visit mapped in town ClimateWeather

The story

Who lives hereMedian age 64 HistoryNo historic monument here; the nearest ones Town HallFamous people

Landmarks

Nothing in Besse is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.

Its history page →

Classé

Centrale hydroélectrique des VernesIndustrial building · 20th c. · in Livet-et-Gavet, 12.2 mi

Classé

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-SaletteChapel · 18th c. · in Fontcouverte-la-Toussuire, 13.6 mi

Famous people from Besse

Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Besse yet.

How we find them →

Besse’s neighbors

The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →

All towns in Isère →

Le Bourg-d'OisansSaint-Jean-de-MaurienneSaint-Martin-d'UriageVaulnaveys-le-HautLe VersoudVillard-BonnotBesse

How the neighbors grade

Town	People	Miles	Overall	Cost	Safety	Health
Besse	154	—	—	—	—	—
Le Bourg-d'Oisans	2,617	6.8	C⁻	C	C⁺	D
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Savoie	7,524	16	B⁻	C⁺	B⁺	C
Saint-Martin-d'Uriage	5,587	17	A⁻	C⁻	B⁺	A⁺
Vaulnaveys-le-Haut	4,006	17	A	C⁻	A	A
Le Versoud	4,900	18	A⁺	C	A	A
Villard-Bonnot	7,509	18	A⁻	B⁻	B⁻	C⁺

People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.

About Besse

Commune in Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Besse is a commune of 154 people in the Communauté de communes de l'Oisans. 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: 154 (INSEE, census 2023)
Intercommunality: Communauté de communes de l'Oisans
Département: Isère (38)
Région: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Area: 19.6 sq mi (50.9 km²)
INSEE code: 38040

Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, 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.