Fewer flats than 99% of compared French towns: 1.1%
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (32%), Bray is above 90% of compared French towns. 50% of households are headed by a retired person. On empty homes, Bray sits higher than 77% of compared French towns: 9.7%. There were 59 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 128 residents.
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 Bray
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 25 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bray, 27% of its 94 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 96% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 27%, a higher share than 94% 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
Households without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%. Long tenure is the mark of 41% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 6.9% (under two years).
Growth of +5% since 2012 puts Bray ahead of 50% 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 change was ±0%; from 2017 to 2023, +5%.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.2%, a lower share than 96% 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
■ Bray 48.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Bray’s residents are over 48.8, older than in 78% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Saône-et-Loire 52.3%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Below 59% of compared French towns: 33% of households are one person living alone
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. Households average 2.2 people. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Couples with children: 25%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town.
Median standard of living: €29,630 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 €29,630 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 82% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker: 25%, a higher share than 96% 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
About one in 12: that is how common households headed by a manager or professional are in Bray (8.3%). For comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals make up 0.8% in Bray, less than in 97% 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.
The figure for immigrants is 3.2% in Bray and 6.5% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Immigrants make up a share lower than in four fifths of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Saône-et-Loire has 6.9%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
19% of residents 15 and over are single, below 96% 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
By its share of married residents (48%), Bray is above 84% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 84% of compared French towns: 13%
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 stands at 30%. For adults with no qualification, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 19%.
Of 41 French towns its size (128 to 2,582 people), the 15th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 2 are older than Bray
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bray | 48.8 | 32% | 27% | 3.2% |
| Cluny 4,942 · 5.7 mi | 49.2 | 30% | 7.9% | 9.5% |
| Tournus 5,701 · 9.8 mi | 51.2 | 31% | 3.2% | 6.9% |
| Sennecey-le-Grand 2,895 · 11.9 mi | 48.7 | 27% | 3.1% | 6.2% |
| Charnay-lès-Mâcon 8,227 · 14.2 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 2.9% | 6% |
| Mâcon 35,177 · 14.3 mi | 40.2 | 22% | 3.3% | 21% |
| Feillens 3,411 · 14.5 mi | 43.9 | 24% | 1.3% | 4.9% |
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 Bray
What is the population of Bray?
128 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (122).
How old are Bray’s residents?
The median age is 48.8, older than 78% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bray?
25, with occasional dwellings: 27% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bray?
INSEE counts 4 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.2% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bray?
€29,630 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.