0.8% of households have no car, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 6.9% of residents are 15 to 24 in Baron. Fewer households headed by a manual worker than in 97% of compared French towns: 4.3%. In 2023, the Census found 274 residents here, living in 120 households. Couples with children make up about one in three here (30%).
Throughout this page, the Saône-et-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 Baron
One home in five is a second home
The census counted 34 second homes and occasional dwellings in Baron, 21% of its 160 homes: higher than in 93% of compared French towns. 100% 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
Baron had 296 residents at the 2012 census and 274 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
More second homes than 93% of compared French towns: 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
Empty homes make up 4.4%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Just over one in ten households moved in less than two years ago; 14% have been in their home 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
−7% since 2012, a pace below 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
Over those years, the median Saône-et-Loire town changed −3% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −1%, then −6% to 2023.
15% of residents are 65 or over, below 91% 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
■ Baron 47. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Baron is 47, higher than in 69% of compared French towns. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 117 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%.
26% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 91% 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 Saône-et-Loire median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
Half above, half below €26,390 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 Baron’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €26,390 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 55% of compared French towns.
Above 83% of compared French towns: 17% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Baron comes in at 30%. Set beside that, 9.4% of 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).
In Baron, 2.9% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 66% 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.
That is lower than in 53% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Saône-et-Loire has 6.9%. The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. Put another way, about one in 16: 6.2% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Baron: 56% of residents 15 and over are married, above 99% 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
17% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Fewer adults with no qualification than 91% of compared French towns: 11%
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
39% of Baron’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 11% have no diploma (19%).
Ranked by age, 15th oldest 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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as young as Baron
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baron | 47 | 15% | 21% | 6.2% |
| Charolles 2,772 · 4 mi | 53.6 | 34% | 4.9% | 4% |
| Paray-le-Monial 9,291 · 8.5 mi | 54.2 | 36% | 3.4% | 7.2% |
| Saint-Vallier 8,508 · 11.3 mi | 52.3 | 32% | 1.7% | 5% |
| Sanvignes-les-Mines 4,235 · 11.5 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 1.1% | 2.9% |
| Gueugnon 6,528 · 12.9 mi | 58 | 38% | 1.8% | 8.6% |
| Montceau-les-Mines 17,064 · 13.1 mi | 50.2 | 30% | 1.1% | 12% |
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 Baron
What is the population of Baron?
274 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (296).
How old are Baron’s residents?
The median age is 47, older than 69% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Baron?
34, with occasional dwellings: 21% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Baron?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 6.2% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Baron?
€26,390 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 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.