Couples with children make up 44% in Braches, more than in 99% of compared French towns
3.5% of homes stand empty; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.7%. On residents aged 65 and over, Braches sits lower than 96% of compared French towns: 13%. The town had 203 residents in 81 households at the 2023 census. Flats: 1.1% of the total.
Throughout this page, the Somme 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 Braches
A town of families
44% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 17% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Braches had 218 residents at the 2012 census and 203 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Braches’s population moved −7% on 2012, less than in 93% 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 +21% to 2017, then −23% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −3% in Somme.
Half of Braches is over 45, older than 57% 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
■ Braches 45. The median compared French town: 44.
At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Somme 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 17% 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 Somme median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.5 people. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
4.7% of households have no car, below 90% 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
With second homes at 5.8%, Braches is ahead of 80% of compared French towns on that count. Households that moved in under two years ago: 2.3%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 29%. The benchmark for households without a car in the typical compared French town: 11%.
The median resident lives on €27,170 a year per consumption unit
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 €27,170 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 63% of compared French towns.
Braches: 17% of households are headed by a manager or professional, above 81% 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
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, 28% of households are headed by a retired person here. The wider picture: 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. On the census count, just over one in ten households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Braches ranks below 97% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1.4%
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 share of foreign nationals is 0.5%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents make up 49% in Braches, more than in 89% 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
The figure for single residents is 22% in Braches and 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Graduates of higher education make up 24% in Braches, less than in 72% 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
At 18%, the share of adults with no qualification is lower than in 53% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (203 to 2,582 people), the 20th youngest
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, 3 are older than Braches
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braches | 45 | 13% | 5.8% | 1.4% |
| Moreuil 3,936 · 3.1 mi | 43.9 | 23% | 3% | 1.1% |
| Ailly-sur-Noye 2,648 · 6.5 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| Montdidier 5,935 · 6.6 mi | 46.3 | 25% | 1.8% | 2.3% |
| Villers-Bretonneux 4,647 · 9.3 mi | 41 | 18% | 0.6% | 1.7% |
| Boves 3,234 · 9.4 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 1.6% | 2.5% |
| Rosières-en-Santerre 2,894 · 10.3 mi | 46.9 | 27% | 0.9% | 2.3% |
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 Braches
What is the population of Braches?
203 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (218).
How old are Braches’ residents?
The median age is 45, older than 57% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Braches?
5, with occasional dwellings: 5.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Braches?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Braches?
€27,170 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.