Photo: Sea Ane · CC BY-SA 4.0A higher share of households in social housing than 98% of compared French towns, at 40%
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 14% of residents are 15 to 24 here. Laon counted 24,220 residents and 11,780 households at the 2023 Census. Households without a car account for 26%. Empty homes are more common here than in 85% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Aisne 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 Laon
Social housing
40% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 25% rent privately and 33% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Laon’s households are one person: higher than in 92% of compared French towns; 42% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Laon had 25,317 residents at the 2012 census and 24,220 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−4% since 2012, a pace below 86% 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 first five years brought −2%; the six to 2023, −3%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Aisne town −4%.
Half of Laon is under 40.8, younger than 74% 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
■ Laon 40.8. The median compared French town: 44.
21% of residents are 65 or over, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Laon ranks below 88% of compared French towns on couples with children: 16%
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 Aisne median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, 10% of households are single parents; in Laon, 13%. Roughly five in ten: 49% of households are one person living alone. On average, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Laon sits above 82% of compared French towns for flats (58%)
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
15% of households arrived within the last two years, while 15% have stayed 30 years or more. Few places have so few second homes: 1.8% here, fewer than in 55% of compared French towns.
€19,870 a year is the median standard of living here
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.
Half of residents live in households above €19,870 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 97% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 31.9% of residents.
Laon sits above 75% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (18%)
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 (6.8%), Laon is below 70% of compared French towns. Few places have so few households headed by a retired person: 31% here, fewer than in 58% of compared French towns. On average, 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).
Laon sits above 76% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (8.3%)
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 68% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Aisne has 5.7%. The usual figure: 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Census figures put immigrants at 9.4% in Laon.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents: 30%, a lower share than 97% 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
Single residents: 36%, above 94% of compared French towns. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
A higher share of adults with no qualification than 88% of compared French towns, at 29%
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
23% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, against 30% in the typical compared French town. On average, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 22,858 to 25,643 people: this is the 21st 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.
At the ends of the range sit Hérouville-Saint-Clair (34.5), the youngest, and Vichy (53.1), the oldest.
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Laon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laon | 40.8 | 21% | 1.8% | 9.4% |
| Athies-sous-Laon 2,578 · 2.6 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 0.7% | 2% |
| La Fère 2,796 · 13.3 mi | 39.7 | 21% | 2.3% | 5.6% |
| Beautor 2,579 · 14.3 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 0.4% | 5.4% |
| Tergnier 13,045 · 16.2 mi | 42.5 | 21% | 1% | 6.7% |
| Crouy 3,049 · 16.6 mi | 44.9 | 24% | 1.3% | 5.7% |
| Villeneuve-Saint-Germain 2,616 · 17.9 mi | 42.3 | 21% | 1.3% | 12% |
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 Laon
What is the population of Laon?
24,220 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (25,317).
How old are Laon’s residents?
The median age is 40.8, younger than 74% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Laon?
250, with occasional dwellings: 1.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Laon?
INSEE counts 2,280 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.4% of residents, and 2,020 foreign nationals (8.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Laon?
€19,870 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 31.9% of residents live below the poverty line. 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.