A larger share of second homes than 97% of compared French towns: 47%
By its share of flats (1%), Bessy-sur-Cure is below 99% of compared French towns. This Yonne town had 184 residents in 96 households at the 2023 census. Residents aged 15 to 24: 4.3% of the total. 28% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 75% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Yonne 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 Bessy-sur-Cure
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 93 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bessy-sur-Cure, 47% of its 200 homes: higher than in 97% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Bessy-sur-Cure’s residents are under 51.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
1% of households rent social housing (HLM), below 99% 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
Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, 4.5% of homes stand empty in Bessy-sur-Cure. In the typical compared French town, households in social housing come to 12%. Households without a car make up about one in 11 here (9.3%).
+1% since 2012: slower than 67% 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
The median Yonne town changed −4% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +4% and the next six −3%.
Older than 87% of compared French towns: half of Bessy-sur-Cure is over 51.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bessy-sur-Cure 51.2. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (32%), Bessy-sur-Cure is above 90% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 81 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Yonne 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
One-person households: 44%, a higher share than 82% 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 Yonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 1.9 people. Fewer couples with children than in 64% of compared French towns: 22%. Elsewhere, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Bessy-sur-Cure has 11%.
At the median, €25,680 a year to live on
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 median standard of living in Bessy-sur-Cure is €25,680 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 53% of compared French towns.
Above 67% of compared French towns: 17% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
Where nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town, Bessy-sur-Cure has 11%. As a yardstick, 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).
Immigrants: 4.3%, a lower share than 70% 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.
By its share of foreign nationals (2.7%), Bessy-sur-Cure is below 69% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% 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.
34% of residents 15 and over are married, below 91% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%; Bessy-sur-Cure has 22%. Elsewhere, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification: 23%, a higher share than 70% 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
28% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, against 30% in the typical compared French town. On average, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (184 to 2,582 people), the 11th 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.
Median age: 2 of the 5 towns around Bessy-sur-Cure are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessy-sur-Cure | 51.2 | 32% | 47% | 4.3% |
| Avallon 6,305 · 12.1 mi | 50.5 | 30% | 5.6% | 12% |
| Auxerre 35,097 · 14.5 mi | 44.1 | 24% | 3.1% | 13% |
| Clamecy 3,544 · 15.4 mi | 49.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 11% |
| Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche 3,151 · 15.8 mi | 56.9 | 38% | 1.5% | 6.3% |
| Monéteau 4,114 · 17.4 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2% | 6.2% |
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 Bessy-sur-Cure
What is the population of Bessy-sur-Cure?
184 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (183).
How old are Bessy-sur-Cure’s residents?
The median age is 51.2, older than 87% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bessy-sur-Cure?
93, with occasional dwellings: 47% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bessy-sur-Cure?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (2.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bessy-sur-Cure?
€25,680 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.