More households in social housing than 92% of compared French towns: 30%
A fifth of households have no car (typical compared French town: 11%). Put another way, about one in six: 16% of households are single parents. Compared with other places, flats are common here: 59%, more than in 83% of compared French towns. In 2023, the Census found 11,415 residents in Dourdan, living in 5,010 households.
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 Dourdan
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,700 immigrants in Dourdan (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 15% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 13% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Social housing
30% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 25% rent privately and 44% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +12% change since 2012: Dourdan grew faster than 75% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought +6%; 2017 to 2023, +6%.
Dourdan is younger than 76% of compared French towns: a median age of 40.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Dourdan 40.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Dourdan has 18%. Locally, 13% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
One-person households: 40%, a higher share than 70% 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 Essonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%; Dourdan has 23%. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Dourdan ranks below 78% of compared French towns on empty homes: 4.7%
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
Of all households, 12% moved in during the last two years and 14% have stayed three decades or more. In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty. Dourdan has more second homes than 52% of compared French towns, at 2.2%. Car-free households: one in five, where the median compared French town has 11%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €26,380 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.
The median standard of living in Dourdan is €26,380 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 54% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 15.0%.
Dourdan ranks below 75% of compared French towns on households headed by a retired person: 28%
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
With households headed by a manager or professional at 13%, Dourdan is ahead of 69% of compared French towns on that count. Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 58% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 32% 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).
A larger share of immigrants than 85% of compared French towns: 15%
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.
Foreign nationals: 13% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 89% of compared French towns: 35% 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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 33% of residents 15 and over are single in Dourdan. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
More adults with no qualification than 70% of compared French towns: 23%
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
By its share of graduates of higher education (35%), Dourdan is above 65% of compared French towns. Against that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 11,208 to 11,632 people: this is the 10th 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 33.8 in Épinay-sous-Sénart to 52.7 in Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
Median age: 3 of the 6 towns around Dourdan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dourdan | 40.6 | 18% | 2.2% | 15% |
| Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines 5,875 · 4.6 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 2.5% | 8.6% |
| Saint-Chéron 5,132 · 5.3 mi | 41.6 | 18% | 13% | 9.8% |
| Forges-les-Bains 4,241 · 7.7 mi | 39.5 | 15% | 2.2% | 8.6% |
| Ablis 3,913 · 7.9 mi | 37.9 | 13% | 2.1% | 10% |
| Breuillet 9,157 · 8.1 mi | 39.4 | 16% | 1.3% | 13% |
| Étréchy 6,986 · 8.4 mi | 43.8 | 23% | 1.6% | 8.5% |
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 Dourdan
What is the population of Dourdan?
11,415 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (10,168).
How old are Dourdan’s residents?
The median age is 40.6, younger than 76% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dourdan?
120, with occasional dwellings: 2.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dourdan?
INSEE counts 1,700 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 15% of residents, and 1,460 foreign nationals (13%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dourdan?
€26,380 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 15.0% 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 October 30, 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.