Photo: Olybrius · CC BY-SA 3.0Younger than 97% of compared French towns: half of Brétigny-sur-Orge is under 34.9
19% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. Few places have as many households without a car: 17% here, more than in 76% of compared French towns. Brétigny-sur-Orge counted 26,658 residents and 11,190 households at the 2023 Census. For Brétigny-sur-Orge, the census puts flats at 63%.
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 Brétigny-sur-Orge
A young town
Half of Brétigny-sur-Orge’s residents are under 34.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 22% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 4,700 immigrants in Brétigny-sur-Orge (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 18% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 13% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +6% change since 2012: Brétigny-sur-Orge grew faster than 54% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Essonne town +6%.
Below 95% of compared French towns: 13% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Brétigny-sur-Orge 34.9. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 12% in Brétigny-sur-Orge. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Above 85% of compared French towns: 13% of households are single parents
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
A household here holds 2.3 people on average. At 28%, the share of couples with children is higher than in 66% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. One-person households: 37%, above nearly three fifths of compared French towns.
24% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 85% 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
One household in six has no car (median compared French town: 11%). On average, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. The census found that 1.2% of homes are second homes in Brétigny-sur-Orge. Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 6.8%, more than in just over half of compared French towns.
€26,470 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.
Living standards centre on €26,470 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 55% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 16.5% of residents.
A smaller share of households headed by a retired person than 94% of compared French towns: 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
At 14%, the share of households headed by a manual worker is lower than in just over half of compared French towns. Against that, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More immigrants than 90% of compared French towns: 18%
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.
Here 13% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. The usual figure: 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.
Single residents make up 32% in Brétigny-sur-Orge, more than in 86% 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
39% of residents 15 and over are married, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
42% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 83% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 16%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
5th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 25,636 to 27,724
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 in Grigny to 55.2 in Biarritz.
Of the 6 towns nearest Brétigny-sur-Orge, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brétigny-sur-Orge | 34.9 | 13% | 1.2% | 18% |
| Le Plessis-Pâté 4,154 · 1.1 mi | 39.1 | 17% | 1.5% | 11% |
| Leuville-sur-Orge 4,271 · 1.9 mi | 41.3 | 15% | 0.6% | 8.4% |
| Saint-Michel-sur-Orge 21,776 · 1.9 mi | 36.9 | 15% | 1.2% | 22% |
| Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon 11,623 · 2 mi | 35.2 | 12% | 1.5% | 17% |
| Linas 7,987 · 2.2 mi | 33.8 | 12% | 0.7% | 16% |
| La Norville 4,268 · 2.5 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 1.5% | 9.4% |
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 Brétigny-sur-Orge
What is the population of Brétigny-sur-Orge?
26,658 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (25,214).
How old are Brétigny-sur-Orge’s residents?
The median age is 34.9, younger than 97% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Brétigny-sur-Orge?
150, with occasional dwellings: 1.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Brétigny-sur-Orge?
INSEE counts 4,670 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 18% of residents, and 3,450 foreign nationals (13%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Brétigny-sur-Orge?
€26,470 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 16.5% 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.