A larger share of couples with children than 98% of compared French towns: 39%
3.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional (typical compared French town: 9.4%). Census day 2023: 323 residents and 130 households in Béthon. Locally, 1.1% of homes are flats. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Sarthe 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 Béthon
A town of families
39% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Béthon had 340 residents at the 2012 census and 323 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 88% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −5% since 2012 leaves Béthon behind 88% 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
Here the change came as −4% to 2017, then −1% to 2023.
Younger than 68% of compared French towns: half of Béthon is under 41.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Béthon 41.6. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 66% of compared French towns: 9.9%. Roughly two in ten: 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Sarthe 51.6%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of one-person households than 98% of compared French towns, at 22%
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 Sarthe median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2.5 people. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. For Béthon, the census puts single-parent households at 11%.
Only 6.6% of households have no car in Béthon
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
Against a figure of 2.1% in the typical compared French town, the share of second homes in Béthon comes in at 1.1%. On empty homes, Béthon sits higher than 51% of compared French towns: 6.8%. As a reference point, just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 2.8% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 27%.
€25,350 a year: the median 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.
Living standards centre on €25,350 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 56% of compared French towns.
30% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
By its share of households headed by a retired person (24%), Béthon is below 85% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manual worker come to 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 0% of Béthon’s residents
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 are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 98% of compared French towns: 18% of residents 15 and over are single
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
With married residents at 46%, Béthon is ahead of 74% of compared French towns on that count. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 85% of compared French towns: 20%
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
Higher than in 53% of compared French towns: 20% of adults out of school have no qualification. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
The 7th youngest of 41 French towns of 323 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as young as Béthon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Béthon | 41.6 | 22% | 1.1% | 0% |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis 3,636 · 4 mi | 54 | 35% | 1.4% | 5% |
| Alençon 25,490 · 4.7 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.1% | 12% |
| Fresnay-sur-Sarthe 2,928 · 5.4 mi | 51 | 33% | 7% | 2.2% |
| Mamers 4,996 · 13 mi | 50.9 | 32% | 1.4% | 4.2% |
| Villaines-la-Juhel 2,671 · 17 mi | 57.5 | 38% | 3.9% | 3.3% |
| Sées 4,168 · 17.3 mi | 51.8 | 33% | 2.9% | 1.9% |
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 Béthon
What is the population of Béthon?
323 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (340).
How old are Béthon’s residents?
The median age is 41.6, younger than 68% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Béthon?
2, with occasional dwellings: 1.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Béthon?
INSEE counts 0 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Béthon?
€25,350 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 4, 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.