2.7% of households have no car, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone here. Census day 2023: 344 residents and 150 households in Basses. In Basses, 2.5% of homes are flats. Higher than in 98% of compared French towns: 27% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Throughout this page, the Vienne 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.
A change of +1% since 2012 leaves Basses behind 66% 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 −5% to 2017, then +7% to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 29% in Basses, more than in 83% 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
■ Basses 47.9. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Basses has 9.3%. With a median age of 47.9, Basses is older than nearly three quarters of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Vienne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of single-parent households than 92% of compared French towns: 6.7%
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 Vienne median and the France median
Living alone · share
30% of households are couples with children, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Each household has 2.4 people on average. On average, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
5.9% of homes are second homes, a share 80% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
6% of households rent social housing (HLM) (typical compared French town: 12%). For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Empty homes account for 9.2%.
Half above, half below €24,240 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €24,240 a year: lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 84% of compared French towns, at 40%
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 manager or professional (6.6%), Basses is below 71% of compared French towns. Households headed by a retired person: 32% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.5% of residents are immigrants, below 86% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Basses comes in at 3.1%. The median compared commune in Vienne has 3.9%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 86% of compared French towns. For comparison, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 17% of residents 15 and over are single in Basses
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
43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, against 47% in Basses. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
16% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 95% 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
In the typical compared French town, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification; in Basses, 31%. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 15th oldest of 41 French towns of 344 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 young as Basses
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basses | 47.9 | 29% | 5.9% | 2.5% |
| Loudun 6,839 · 2.7 mi | 52.2 | 32% | 3.2% | 4.9% |
| Chinon 8,144 · 10.7 mi | 49.2 | 29% | 5.6% | 5.1% |
| Beaumont-en-Véron 2,717 · 11.3 mi | 50.9 | 25% | 5.5% | 3.1% |
| Bellevigne-les-Châteaux 3,435 · 13.7 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Montreuil-Bellay 3,746 · 13.9 mi | 48.8 | 27% | 5% | 3.2% |
| Thouars 13,891 · 16.7 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 2.5% | 6.5% |
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 Basses
What is the population of Basses?
344 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (341).
How old are Basses’ residents?
The median age is 47.9, older than 74% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 29% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Basses?
10, with occasional dwellings: 5.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Basses?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 11 foreign nationals (3.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Basses?
€24,240 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.