Half of Grigny is under 31, younger than 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, 10% of households are single parents; in Grigny, 20%. Higher than in 98% of compared French towns: 42% of households have no car. At the 2023 Census Grigny was home to 26,842 people in 9,120 households. The share of households headed by a retired person stands at 16%.
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 Grigny
Immigrants
INSEE counts 10,600 immigrants in Grigny (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 40% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 36% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Grigny’s residents are under 31 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 27% are under 15 and 9.6% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
41% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 30% rent privately and 28% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 82% of compared French towns: Grigny changed by −3% since 2012
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
In two steps, +4% to 2017 and −7% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and +6% in Essonne.
Grigny ranks below 99% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 9.6%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Grigny 31. The median compared French town: 44.
16% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Against that, 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%.
More couples with children than 88% of compared French towns: 33%
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
Each household has 2.9 people on average. Typically, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Few places have so few one-person households: 30% here, fewer than in just over three quarters of compared French towns.
41% of households rent social housing (HLM), a share 98% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%; Grigny has 0.2%. Few places have as many flats: 87% here, more than in 98% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Locally, one in ten homes stand empty.
The median resident lives on €16,470 a year per consumption unit
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 Grigny’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €16,470 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 99% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 44.9% of residents.
In Grigny, 31% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 99% 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
Set against 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 5.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Grigny. For 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).
Above 99% of compared French towns: 40% 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.
In Grigny, 36% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 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.
A higher share of single residents than 99% of compared French towns, at 42%
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
In Grigny, two in five residents 15 and over are married, beside 43% in the typical compared French town. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Grigny sits above 99% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (37%)
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
Graduates of higher education: 19%, below 88% of compared French towns.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 25,769 to 27,906 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Grigny (31), the oldest Biarritz (55.2).
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Grigny 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grigny | 31 | 9.6% | 0.2% | 40% |
| Ris-Orangis 31,189 · 1.2 mi | 34.4 | 13% | 0.6% | 30% |
| Viry-Châtillon 30,838 · 1.3 mi | 38.1 | 16% | 1.8% | 23% |
| Fleury-Mérogis 13,721 · 1.5 mi | 30.2 | 4.7% | 0.8% | 29% |
| Morsang-sur-Orge 21,667 · 1.6 mi | 38 | 14% | 1.4% | 20% |
| Draveil 30,098 · 2.4 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 1.1% | 17% |
| Villemoisson-sur-Orge 7,332 · 2.5 mi | 42.3 | 19% | 1.1% | 13% |
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 Grigny
What is the population of Grigny?
26,842 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (27,713).
How old are Grigny’s residents?
The median age is 31, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 32% are under 18 and 9.6% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Grigny?
17, with occasional dwellings: 0.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Grigny?
INSEE counts 10,640 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 40% of residents, and 9,630 foreign nationals (36%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Grigny?
€16,470 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 44.9% 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.