Photo: VVVCFFrance · CC BY-SA 4.0Palaiseau is younger than 99% of compared French towns: a median age of 33.1
By its share of households without a car (28%), Palaiseau is above 94% of compared French towns. This Essonne town is home to 37,471 residents in 17,560 households, by the 2023 Census. About one in six: that is how common households headed by a retired person are in Palaiseau (18%). Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 5.4%, more than in 78% 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 Palaiseau
A young town
Half of Palaiseau’s residents are under 33.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 16% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 7,900 immigrants in Palaiseau (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 21% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 17% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Many graduates
57% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 33% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Growing fast
Palaiseau had 30,268 residents at the 2012 census and 37,471 in 2023, up 24%: faster growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Palaiseau outgrew 93% of compared French towns: +24%
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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +6% for the median Essonne town, the change came in two steps: +17% from 2012 to 2017, then +6% to 2023.
In Palaiseau, 20% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 99% 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
■ Palaiseau 33.1. The median compared French town: 44.
In Palaiseau, 14% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
47% of households are one person living alone, more than in 88% 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
Households average 2 people. Lower than in two thirds of compared French towns: 22% of households are couples with children. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. Palaiseau sits close to the norm on single-parent households: 9.6%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Palaiseau ranks above 90% of compared French towns on flats: 71%
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
Against a figure of 12% in the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing in Palaiseau comes in at 18%. Empty homes make up about one in 14 here (7.4%). Across the comparison, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €31,460 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 Palaiseau’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €31,460 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 13.8%.
A larger share of households headed by a manager or professional than 98% of compared French towns: 33%
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 14% in the typical compared French town, 6.7% of households are headed by a manual worker in Palaiseau. Across the comparison, 9.4% of 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).
Palaiseau sits above 94% of compared French towns for immigrants (21%)
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.
The median compared commune in Essonne has 13%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 94% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Across Palaiseau, 17% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Palaiseau: 41% of residents 15 and over are single, above 98% 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
In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married; in Palaiseau, 34%. For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
A larger share of graduates of higher education than 97% of compared French towns: 57%
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
The share of adults with no qualification is 11%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Ranked by age, 4th youngest of 41 French towns this size
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 Saint-Martin-d'Hères (29.9), the oldest Saint-Raphaël (58.9).
Palaiseau is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palaiseau | 33.1 | 14% | 5.4% | 21% |
| Villebon-sur-Yvette 10,291 · 1.1 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 2.1% | 12% |
| Igny 10,833 · 1.6 mi | 41.4 | 16% | 4.1% | 11% |
| Champlan 2,615 · 1.8 mi | 42.2 | 17% | 2.4% | 20% |
| Massy 51,729 · 1.8 mi | 34.7 | 13% | 2.9% | 25% |
| Saulx-les-Chartreux 6,733 · 2.4 mi | 37.8 | 14% | 1.1% | 11% |
| Verrières-le-Buisson 15,057 · 2.4 mi | 47.2 | 24% | 1.8% | 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 Palaiseau
What is the population of Palaiseau?
37,471 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 24% more than in 2012 (30,268).
How old are Palaiseau’s residents?
The median age is 33.1, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Palaiseau?
1,100, with occasional dwellings: 5.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Palaiseau?
INSEE counts 7,910 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 21% of residents, and 6,470 foreign nationals (17%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Palaiseau?
€31,460 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.8% 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.