Households headed by a manager or professional: 40%, a higher share than 99% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Orsay comes in at 21%. The town had 16,498 residents in 7,450 households at the 2023 Census. The census found that 3% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. Households without a car are more common here than in 85% 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 Orsay
Many graduates
68% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 44% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 2,700 immigrants in Orsay (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 16% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 12% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Orsay’s residents are under 38 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 14% are under 15 and 18% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+4% since 2012, a pace below 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
The median Essonne town changed +6% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +3% and the next six ±0%.
Orsay is younger than 88% of compared French towns: a median age of 38
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Orsay 38. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 18%, Orsay is behind 76% of compared French towns on that count.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 6%, a lower share than 96% 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
One-person households make up 44%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. Meanwhile, 24% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 56% of compared French towns. The benchmark for single-parent households in the typical compared French town: 10%.
53% of homes are flats, a share 78% 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
Newcomers of less than two years account for 16% of households, residents of 30 years or more for 19%. Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 3.5%, more than in 67% of compared French towns. Empty homes make up 7.5%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
€36,910 a year: the median standard of living
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 midpoint of living standards here is €36,910 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 97% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 9.0%.
3.7% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 98% 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
With households headed by a retired person at 24%, Orsay is behind 86% of compared French towns on that count. 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).
Orsay ranks above 88% of compared French towns on immigrants: 16%
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, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Orsay has 12%. On average, 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 36% in Orsay, more than in 94% 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: 40% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Orsay: 68% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, above 99% 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
With adults with no qualification at 8.9%, Orsay is behind 97% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
41 French towns of 15,925 to 17,064 people: this is the 9th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Saint-Julien-en-Genevois (35.4), the youngest, and La Baule-Escoublac (60.4), the oldest.
Of the 6 towns nearest Orsay, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orsay | 38 | 18% | 3.5% | 16% |
| Les Ulis 25,886 · 1.2 mi | 35.6 | 14% | 1.2% | 28% |
| Bures-sur-Yvette 9,548 · 1.6 mi | 45 | 23% | 1.8% | 13% |
| Villebon-sur-Yvette 10,291 · 1.9 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 2.1% | 12% |
| Villejust 2,558 · 2.2 mi | 37.2 | 10% | 7.5% | 11% |
| Gometz-le-Châtel 2,630 · 2.4 mi | 41.2 | 17% | 7.3% | 14% |
| Palaiseau 37,471 · 2.6 mi | 33.1 | 14% | 5.4% | 21% |
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 Orsay
What is the population of Orsay?
16,498 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (15,880).
How old are Orsay’s residents?
The median age is 38, younger than 88% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Orsay?
300, with occasional dwellings: 3.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Orsay?
INSEE counts 2,680 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 16% of residents, and 1,970 foreign nationals (12%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Orsay?
€36,910 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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.