In Bard, 1.4% of households have no car, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
In Bard, 11% of homes stand empty, beside 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 8.2%, fewer than in 91% of compared French towns. The town is home to 700 residents in 290 households, by the 2023 Census. For Bard, the census puts flats at 1.7%.
Throughout this page, the Loire 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.
Since 2012, Bard has grown +11%, faster than 73% 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 median Loire town changed +3% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +6% and the next six +5%.
Bard is older than 55% of compared French towns: a median age of 44.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bard 44.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 21% here, fewer than in 55% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 112 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Only 24% of households are one person living alone in Bard
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 Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.4 people on average. For comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. 6.6% of households are single parents, a lower share than in 92% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%; Bard has 33%.
Second homes: 6.2%, a higher share than 81% 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 in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Newcomers of less than two years account for 5.7% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 28%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €28,390 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.
Living standards centre on €28,390 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 74% of compared French towns.
Bard ranks below 71% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 29%
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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Bard, 17%. As a reference point, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manager or professional: nearly a tenth of the total.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
1.8% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 94% 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.
Foreign nationals: 0.8%, below 97% of compared French towns. The median compared commune in Loire has 5.8%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 94% of compared French towns. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Bard, 18% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 98% 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 married residents is 52%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
9.9% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 96% 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
Two fifths of Bard’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 9.9% have no diploma (19%).
Among 41 French towns of 700 to 2,582 people, the 18th youngest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Bard
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bard | 44.8 | 21% | 6.2% | 1.8% |
| Montbrison 16,123 · 2.4 mi | 44.6 | 25% | 2.8% | 6.4% |
| Savigneux 3,509 · 3.5 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Romain-le-Puy 4,142 · 5.8 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 1.2% | 2.3% |
| Sury-le-Comtal 6,621 · 9 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 1.6% | 10% |
| Saint-Marcellin-en-Forez 5,116 · 10 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 2.7% | 1.8% |
| Boën-sur-Lignon 3,001 · 10.7 mi | 55.3 | 35% | 2.3% | 3.6% |
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 Bard
What is the population of Bard?
700 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% more than in 2012 (629).
How old are Bard’s residents?
The median age is 44.8, older than 55% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bard?
22, with occasional dwellings: 6.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bard?
INSEE counts 13 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.8% of residents, and 6 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bard?
€28,390 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.