Only 0.3% of homes are flats in Besneville
Just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, against 4.2% in Besneville. At the 2023 Census Besneville was home to 661 people in 280 households. On the census count, 3.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 27%, fewer than in 87% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Manche 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 Besneville
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 83 second homes and occasional dwellings in Besneville, 21% of its 390 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 90% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Besneville had 691 residents at the 2012 census and 661 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of second homes than 93% of compared French towns, at 21%
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
Turnover: 7.5% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 26% have lived in their home 30 years or more. 6.5% of households have no car, a lower share than in 76% of compared French towns. The benchmark for second homes in the typical compared French town: 2.1%. Empty homes: 5.5%, below 68% of compared French towns.
−4% since 2012: slower than 86% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Manche town ±0%.
26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 73% 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
■ Besneville 46.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in Besneville. With a median age of 46.8, Besneville is older than just over two thirds of compared French towns. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Manche 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Fewer single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 3.6%
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 Manche median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2.3 people in the average household. Higher than in 81% of compared French towns: 31% of households are couples with children. Across the comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
Half above, half below €24,100 a year in standard of living
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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,100 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 40% in Besneville, more than in 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
The share of households headed by a manual worker is 19%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 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).
Below 77% of compared French towns: 3.5% 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.
Foreign nationals: 3.4% of the total. The wider picture: 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Besneville ranks below 98% of compared French towns on single residents: 18%
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 53% in Besneville. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
In Besneville, 16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education 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
A quarter of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (661 to 2,582 people), 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Besneville are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besneville | 46.8 | 26% | 21% | 3.5% |
| Port-Bail-sur-Mer 2,520 · 3.9 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 52% | 2.4% |
| La Haye 4,029 · 6.1 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 21% | 2.5% |
| Bricquebec-en-Cotentin 5,893 · 6.8 mi | 47 | 25% | 4.6% | 1.3% |
| Picauville 3,228 · 9.9 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| Valognes 6,969 · 11.7 mi | 51 | 29% | 2.4% | 1.6% |
| Les Pieux 3,249 · 12.8 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 15% | 2.7% |
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 Besneville
What is the population of Besneville?
661 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (691).
How old are Besneville’s residents?
The median age is 46.8, older than 68% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Besneville?
83, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Besneville?
INSEE counts 23 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.5% of residents, and 22 foreign nationals (3.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Besneville?
€24,100 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.