More couples with children than 99% of compared French towns: 40%
7.8% of homes are second homes, against 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Bessins had 123 residents in 51 households at the 2023 Census. Census figures put flats at 4.7% in the town. Compared with other places, households headed by a manual worker are scarce here: 10%, fewer than in 77% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Isère 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 Bessins
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 16% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 8 homes empty (13%): 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 −3% change since 2012: slower than 82% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was −9%; from 2017 to 2023, +6%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Isère town +7%.
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 87% of compared French towns, at 13%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bessins 46.3. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Bessins is 46.3, higher than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
43% women, 57% men
About 76 women for every 100 men. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 40% in Bessins, more than in 69% 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 Isère median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%. The typical household size is 2.4 people.
Bessins: 13% of homes stand empty, above 90% of compared French towns
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
Households without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 5.9% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 27%.
The median resident lives on €25,310 a year per consumption unit
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 midpoint of living standards here is €25,310 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
Bessins: 40% of households are headed by a retired person, above 83% of compared French towns
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
For Bessins, the census puts households headed by a manager or professional at 10%. Against that, 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).
Foreign nationals: 8.9%, a higher share than 78% of compared French towns
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 Isère has 8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 69% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%. 9.8% of residents are immigrants, or about one in ten.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Bessins sits below 97% of compared French towns for married residents (31%)
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
With single residents at 27%, Bessins is ahead of 63% of compared French towns on that count. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 90% of compared French towns: 12%
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
29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 52% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 18th oldest of 41 French towns of 123 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Bessins is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessins | 46.3 | 20% | 7.8% | 9.8% |
| Chatte 2,518 · 4.3 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 2.3% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Marcellin 7,700 · 4.4 mi | 50.5 | 29% | 2% | 11% |
| Vinay 4,438 · 6.9 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 2.1% | 6.7% |
| Saint-Siméon-de-Bressieux 3,186 · 8.8 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 2.6% | 8.6% |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs 3,425 · 10.2 mi | 43 | 23% | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| Tullins 7,624 · 12.8 mi | 47 | 23% | 1% | 9.9% |
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 Bessins
What is the population of Bessins?
123 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (127).
How old are Bessins’ residents?
The median age is 46.3, older than 65% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bessins?
5, with occasional dwellings: 7.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bessins?
INSEE counts 12 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.8% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (8.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bessins?
€25,310 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 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.