Households headed by a manager or professional make up 3.4% in Carignan, less than in 95% of compared French towns
The figure for households without a car is 20% in Carignan and 11% in the typical compared French town. This Ardennes town is home to 2,680 residents in 1,310 households, by the 2023 Census. About one in six: that is how common couples with children are in Carignan (18%). The median age in the town is 48.7, higher than in 78% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ardennes 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 Carignan
Fewer residents than in 2012
Carignan had 2,987 residents at the 2012 census and 2,680 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 210 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Carignan’s population moved −10% on 2012, less than in 97% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −9% in Ardennes. Here the change came as −3% to 2017, then −7% to 2023.
In Carignan, 26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 71% 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
■ Carignan 48.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 12% in Carignan. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over 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: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
One-person households: 42%, a higher share than 76% 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 Ardennes median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 2 people in the average household. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Higher than in 71% of compared French towns: 11% of households are single parents.
In Carignan, 13% of homes stand empty, more than in 92% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 22% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 12% (under two years). On households in social housing, Carignan sits higher than 68% of compared French towns: 17%. Measured more widely, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. With flats at 36%, Carignan is ahead of 60% of compared French towns on that count.
Half above, half below €22,230 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.
The median standard of living in Carignan is €22,230 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 87% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 24.0% of residents.
Carignan ranks above 97% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 26%
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
The census found that 33% of households are headed by a retired person in Carignan. Typically, 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).
Carignan: 7.2% of residents are immigrants
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.
That is higher than in 54% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ardennes has 6.7%. About one in 14: that is how common immigrants are in Carignan (7.2%). At 4.9%, the share of foreign nationals is in line with the figure 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.
Married residents: 38%, a lower share than 78% 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 make up 27%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Carignan ranks below 94% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 17%
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
With adults with no qualification at 30%, Carignan is ahead of 90% of compared French towns on that count.
Ranked by age, 16th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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 34 in Roissy-en-France to 63.6 in Piriac-sur-Mer.
Every neighbor is younger than Carignan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carignan | 48.7 | 26% | 1.8% | 7.2% |
| Sedan 16,667 · 11.2 mi | 45 | 24% | 1.3% | 8% |
| Vrigne aux Bois 3,518 · 15.7 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Vivier-au-Court 2,732 · 16.8 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.4% | 11% |
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 Carignan
What is the population of Carignan?
2,680 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (2,987).
How old are Carignan’s residents?
The median age is 48.7, older than 78% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Carignan?
27, with occasional dwellings: 1.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Carignan?
INSEE counts 190 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.2% of residents, and 130 foreign nationals (4.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Carignan?
€22,230 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.0% 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.