A larger share of households in social housing than 99% of compared French towns: 42%
Couples with children: 15%, below 91% of compared French towns. In Sedan, 3.6% of households are headed by a manager or professional. Higher than in 90% of compared French towns: 70% of homes are flats. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 16,667, in 8,710 households.
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 Sedan
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sedan had 18,430 residents at the 2012 census and 16,667 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Social housing
42% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 28% rent privately and 30% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
51% of Sedan’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 45% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Empty homes
The census found 1,140 homes empty (11%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Sedan’s population moved −10% on 2012, less than in 96% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −9% for the median Ardennes town, the change came in two steps: −11% from 2012 to 2017, then +1% to 2023.
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 80% of compared French towns: 12%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sedan 45. The median compared French town: 44.
Half of Sedan’s residents are over 45, older than in 56% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of one-person households than 94% of compared French towns: 51%
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
Single-parent households: 14%, above 90% of compared French towns. For one-person households, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 35%. Each household has 1.9 people on average.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 29% of households have no car
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. On empty homes, Sedan sits higher than 86% of compared French towns: 11%. At 1.3%, second homes sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €19,330 a year
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 €19,330 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 98% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 34.0% of residents.
Sedan ranks above 83% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 20%
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
Households headed by a retired person: 35% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 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).
A higher share of foreign nationals than 65% of compared French towns, at 6.2%
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.
8% of residents are immigrants; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.5%. In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals. The median compared commune in Ardennes has 6.7%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 60% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer married residents than 97% of compared French towns: 31%
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
Just over a third of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Only 17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Sedan
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
A third of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 16,065 to 17,274 people, the 16th 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 Saint-Julien-en-Genevois (35.4), the youngest, and La Baule-Escoublac (60.4), the oldest.
Sedan is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan | 45 | 24% | 1.3% | 8% |
| Vrigne aux Bois 3,518 · 4.6 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Vivier-au-Court 2,732 · 5.6 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.4% | 11% |
| Villers-Semeuse 3,615 · 9.2 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 0.5% | 5.8% |
| Charleville-Mézières 45,560 · 10.9 mi | 43.4 | 23% | 2.3% | 11% |
| Carignan 2,680 · 11.2 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 1.8% | 7.2% |
| Nouzonville 5,523 · 11.8 mi | 46 | 23% | 0.9% | 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 Sedan
What is the population of Sedan?
16,667 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (18,430).
How old are Sedan’s residents?
The median age is 45, older than 56% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sedan?
130, with occasional dwellings: 1.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sedan?
INSEE counts 1,330 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8% of residents, and 1,040 foreign nationals (6.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sedan?
€19,330 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 34.0% 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.