Younger than 91% of compared French towns: half of Arpajon is under 37.1
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Arpajon has 79%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 11,698, in 5,610 households. Across Arpajon, nearly a quarter of households are headed by a retired person. Compared with other places, households without a car are common here: 22%, more than in 87% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Essonne 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 Arpajon
Immigrants
INSEE counts 2,200 immigrants in Arpajon (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 19% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 16% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Arpajon’s residents are under 37.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 17% are under 15 and 17% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
49% of Arpajon’s households are one person: higher than in 91% of compared French towns; 45% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+8% since 2012, a pace 63% of compared French towns didn’t match
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 compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Essonne town +6%. The change was −4% from 2012 to 2017 and +13% from 2017 to 2023.
17% of residents are 65 or over, below 84% 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
■ Arpajon 37.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 12%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 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: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Above 91% of compared French towns: 49% of households are one person living alone
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 Essonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Arpajon has 13%. At the same time, on couples with children, Arpajon sits lower than just over three quarters of compared French towns: 19%. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Households in social housing make up 16% in Arpajon, more than in 67% 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
Car-free households: one in five, where the median compared French town has 11%. Long tenure is the mark of 10% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 16% (under two years). Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 7.9%, more than in 63% of compared French towns.
Standard of living at the median: €24,340 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 Arpajon’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,340 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 68% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 21.0%.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 16% in Arpajon, more than in 79% of compared French towns
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
On households headed by a manual worker, Arpajon sits lower than 55% of compared French towns: 13%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of immigrants than 92% of compared French towns: 19%
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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Arpajon, 16%. 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.
Below 95% of compared French towns: 32% of residents 15 and over are married
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: 35% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
More graduates of higher education than 68% of compared French towns: 35%
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
Adults with no qualification: 21%, above just over three fifths of compared French towns. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 11,432 to 11,939 people: this is the 5th youngest
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 31.9 in Dugny to 55.2 in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer.
Nearby, 3 of 6 towns have older populations than Arpajon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arpajon | 37.1 | 17% | 2.5% | 19% |
| La Norville 4,268 · 0.7 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 1.5% | 9.4% |
| Égly 7,166 · 0.9 mi | 35.7 | 14% | 1% | 20% |
| Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon 11,623 · 1.1 mi | 35.2 | 12% | 1.5% | 17% |
| Ollainville 5,455 · 1.1 mi | 36.5 | 12% | 1.2% | 11% |
| Leuville-sur-Orge 4,271 · 2.1 mi | 41.3 | 15% | 0.6% | 8.4% |
| Bruyères-le-Châtel 3,788 · 2.7 mi | 40.6 | 17% | 1% | 8.1% |
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 Arpajon
What is the population of Arpajon?
11,698 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (10,832).
How old are Arpajon’s residents?
The median age is 37.1, younger than 91% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Arpajon?
150, with occasional dwellings: 2.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Arpajon?
INSEE counts 2,220 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 19% of residents, and 1,820 foreign nationals (16%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Arpajon?
€24,340 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.0% 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.