27% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 89% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households have no car; in Bonson, 5.9%. 4.1% of homes stand empty. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 8.6%, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 4,557 residents and 1,900 households in the town.
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.
What stands out about the people of Bonson
Growing fast
Bonson had 3,674 residents at the 2012 census and 4,557 in 2023, up 24%: faster growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bonson grew +24% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 94% 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 population moved +6%, and from 2017 to 2023 +17%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Loire town +3%.
Bonson is younger than 69% of compared French towns: a median age of 41.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bonson 41.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Loire 52.0%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of couples with children than 75% of compared French towns: 30%
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
12% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). The usual figure: 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2.4 people.
In Bonson, 18% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 71% 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
The figure for flats is 20% in Bonson and 30% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 1% of homes are second homes.
A typical living standard of €25,840 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €25,840 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 51% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 11.0% of residents are below the poverty line.
6.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 70% 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
36% of households are headed by a retired person; in the typical compared French town the figure is 32%. Households headed by a manual worker: 14% of the total. For households headed by a manager or professional, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Bonson: 5.8% of residents are immigrants
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 make up about one in 17 here (5.8%). Lower than in 57% of compared French towns: 3.6% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
More married residents than 88% of compared French towns: 49%
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
Just over a fifth of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Bonson ranks below 67% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 25%
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 adults with no qualification is 21%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 10th youngest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Crespin (37.1), the oldest Leucate (63).
Around Bonson, 3 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonson | 41.5 | 23% | 1% | 5.8% |
| Sury-le-Comtal 6,621 · 1.9 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 1.6% | 10% |
| Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert 15,764 · 2.4 mi | 45.8 | 24% | 1.1% | 3.7% |
| Andrézieux-Bouthéon 10,425 · 2.4 mi | 41.3 | 22% | 1.2% | 14% |
| Saint-Marcellin-en-Forez 5,116 · 3.2 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 2.7% | 1.8% |
| Veauche 8,975 · 4.4 mi | 47.5 | 27% | 1% | 3.7% |
| Saint-Romain-le-Puy 4,142 · 5 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 1.2% | 2.3% |
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 Bonson
What is the population of Bonson?
4,557 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 24% more than in 2012 (3,674).
How old are Bonson’s residents?
The median age is 41.5, younger than 69% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bonson?
21, with occasional dwellings: 1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bonson?
INSEE counts 270 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.8% of residents, and 160 foreign nationals (3.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bonson?
€25,840 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 11.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.