Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,331 in Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Bessenay has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents. At the median price of €2,371/m², a 70 m² home costs 5.4 times the median annual income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size) in the Communauté de communes du Pays de l'Arbresle (CCPA). Its strongest is health (A−): after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 25% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The one thing Bessenay does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Bessenay with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Bessenay as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Couvent Sainte-Marie-de-la-Tourette, in Éveux, 4.5 mi away.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bessenay.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
After the care-home adjustment, Bessenay’s deaths ran at 75 per 100 expected, close to Rhône’s towns (76) and below compared French towns (88). From 2016 to 2025, 282 residents of Bessenay died, against 289 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 2% fewer. The care-home adjustment is a TownRatings modeling step, not an official statistic.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
That puts Bessenay below both Rhône’s towns (€14.83/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). The median price, €2,371/m², comes from 61 sales of houses and apartments in Bessenay from July 2023 to June 2026.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,431/m² | 53 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
On this, Bessenay is below both Rhône’s towns (18.4%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Bessenay has 550 jobs for 1,050 working residents, 0.5 per worker. Unemployment stands at 6.9%.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
In the comparison, Bessenay comes above both Rhône’s towns (19%) and compared French towns (22%). Children are 16% of the town.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
| Bessenay | Rhône median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 24% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 16% | 15% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 25% | 21% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| Higher education | 35% | 41% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Rhône median and France median: the median of compared communes
Heritage, museums and family days out in and near Bessenay. Best known first.
MuseumMusée de la mine de Saint-Pierre-la-Palud4.8 km northeast, in Saint-Pierre-la-PaludAbbeyAbbeyAbbaye Saint-Martin de Savigny4.7 km north, in SavignyZooZooParc animalier de Courzieu4.6 km southeast, in CourzieuChâteauChâteauChâteau de Charfetain3.2 km southwest, in BrulliolesMuseumMuseumMusée de la Mine et de la minéralogie4.7 km northeast, in Saint-Pierre-la-PaludPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Nothing in Bessenay is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
3 notable people were born in Bessenay.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessenay | 2,331 | — | — | A− | — | A− |
| Saint-Pierre-la-Palud | 2,616 | 3 | — | C+ | — | A+ |
| Sain-Bel | 2,566 | 3.3 | A | B+ | B | B− |
| L'Arbresle | 6,537 | 5 | A− | B | C+ | B |
| Pollionnay | 2,958 | 5.3 | — | C− | — | A |
| Vaugneray | 6,304 | 6 | A | C− | A− | B+ |
| Lentilly | 6,623 | 6.2 | A− | C− | B | A |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Bessenay has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 3.9 recorded violent incidents and 5.4 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Bessenay grades A− for cost of living.
Commune in Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bessenay is a commune of 2,331 people in the Communauté de communes du Pays de l'Arbresle (CCPA). 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
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · 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.