In Bessenay, 4% of households have no car, fewer than in 94% of compared French towns
By its share of single-parent households (6.1%), Bessenay is below 95% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 2,331 people lived in the town, in 1,000 households. Households in social housing: 5.6% of the total. Nearly one in ten households are headed by a manual worker, a lower share than in 82% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Rhône 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.
Bessenay’s population moved +4% on 2012, less than in 55% 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 first five years brought +2%; the six to 2023, +2%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Rhône town +10%.
Half of Bessenay is over 46.7, older than 68% 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
■ Bessenay 46.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 22% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Bessenay comes in at 24%.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Rhône 51.5%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 32% in Bessenay, less than in 68% 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 Rhône median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.3 people on average. Compared with other places, couples with children are common here: 27%, more than in 60% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
More second homes than 78% of compared French towns: 5.2%
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, just over a fifth of homes are flats in Bessenay. Across Bessenay, nearly one in ten homes stand empty. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €28,050 a year to live on
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 €28,050 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 71% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 8.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 15% in Bessenay, more than in 76% 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
Households headed by a retired person: 34%, above 58% of compared French towns. On average, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 3.7% in Bessenay, less than in 76% 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.
2.4% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). For immigrants, the comparison 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.
A higher share of married residents than 73% of compared French towns, at 46%
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
Single residents make up 23%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Bessenay, 16% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 69% 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
The share of graduates of higher education tops 65% of compared French towns: 35%. Adults with no qualification: 19% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
The 18th oldest of 41 French towns of 2,331 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.
No nearby town is as old as Bessenay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessenay | 46.7 | 24% | 5.2% | 3.7% |
| Saint-Pierre-la-Palud 2,616 · 3 mi | 42.1 | 17% | 1.5% | 3% |
| Sain-Bel 2,566 · 3.3 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 1.3% | 8% |
| L'Arbresle 6,537 · 5 mi | 40.1 | 18% | 1.7% | 11% |
| Pollionnay 2,958 · 5.3 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 2% | 4% |
| Vaugneray 6,304 · 6 mi | 41.5 | 20% | 2.5% | 3.3% |
| Lentilly 6,623 · 6.2 mi | 42.9 | 19% | 1.1% | 4.7% |
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 Bessenay
What is the population of Bessenay?
2,331 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (2,249).
How old are Bessenay’s residents?
The median age is 46.7, older than 68% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bessenay?
59, with occasional dwellings: 5.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bessenay?
INSEE counts 86 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.7% of residents, and 56 foreign nationals (2.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bessenay?
€28,050 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 8.0% 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 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.