Photo: besopha · CC BY-SA 2.0Households headed by a retired person: 25%, a lower share than 84% of compared French towns
Here 10% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. More couples with children than in 71% of compared French towns: 29%. 3,731 residents in 1,590 households: that is La Ferté-Alais at the 2023 Census. The census found that nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over locally.
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 La Ferté-Alais
Fewer residents than in 2012
La Ferté-Alais had 3,982 residents at the 2012 census and 3,731 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
La Ferté-Alais changed by −6% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 92% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −5%, and from 2017 to 2023 −2%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Essonne town +6%.
13% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 87% 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
■ La Ferté-Alais 43. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 43, La Ferté-Alais is younger than 58% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
13% of households are single parents, more than in 84% 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
The average household has 2.3 people. The usual figure: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. 32% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 64% of compared French towns.
39% of homes are flats, a share 62% 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
16% of households have been in place 30 years or more; 9.4% moved in within the last two years. On second homes, La Ferté-Alais sits lower than nearly three fifths of compared French towns: 1.6%. Households in social housing are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 12%.
A median of €29,720 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.
At €29,720 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 83% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 8.0% of residents.
La Ferté-Alais ranks above 76% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 15%
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
14% of households are headed by a manual worker, or about one in seven. On average, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
La Ferté-Alais: 8.1% of residents are foreign nationals, above 75% of compared French towns
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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 69% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Essonne has 13%. Measured more widely, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in ten: one in ten residents are immigrants.
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 30% in La Ferté-Alais, more than in 78% 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
Married residents make up 39%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
36% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 69% 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: 16% here and 19% in the typical compared French town. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (3,700 to 3,764 people), the 6th 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.
Lourches is the youngest (35.1); Cabourg the oldest (63.9).
La Ferté-Alais and its 6 nearest towns: 3 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Ferté-Alais | 43 | 19% | 1.6% | 9.6% |
| Cerny 3,531 · 1.4 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 3.4% | 7.1% |
| Itteville 6,746 · 2.9 mi | 41.3 | 15% | 1.2% | 6.1% |
| Ballancourt-sur-Essonne 8,191 · 3.3 mi | 40.5 | 19% | 0.9% | 14% |
| Boutigny-sur-Essonne 3,146 · 3.4 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 3.4% | 7.4% |
| Saint-Vrain 3,089 · 4.2 mi | 44.9 | 24% | 2.1% | 9.3% |
| Champcueil 2,854 · 4.8 mi | 44.3 | 24% | 4.9% | 11% |
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 La Ferté-Alais
What is the population of La Ferté-Alais?
3,731 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (3,982).
How old are La Ferté-Alais’ residents?
The median age is 43, younger than 58% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Ferté-Alais?
30, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Ferté-Alais?
INSEE counts 360 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.6% of residents, and 300 foreign nationals (8.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Ferté-Alais?
€29,720 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 8.0% 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.