Photo: Mattdeje · CC0Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon is younger than 96% of compared French towns: a median age of 35.2
With households headed by a retired person at 20%, Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon is behind 94% of compared French towns on that count. Its 4,120 households held 11,623 residents at the 2023 Census. Put another way, about one in 24: 4.1% of homes stand empty. Households in social housing are more common here than in 76% 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 Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 14% single parents with children; 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon’s residents are under 35.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,900 immigrants in Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 17% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 13% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Growing fast
Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon had 9,412 residents at the 2012 census and 11,623 in 2023, up 23%: faster growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +23% change since 2012: Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon grew faster than 93% 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
Over those years, the median Essonne town changed +6% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +14%, then +9% to 2023.
In Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon, 12% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 98% 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
■ Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon 35.2. The median compared French town: 44.
14% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of couples with children than 99% of compared French towns: 40%
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
With single-parent households at 14%, Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon is ahead of 93% of compared French towns on that count. As a reference point, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone, or about one in four.
39% of homes are flats, more than in 62% of compared French towns
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
One household in 10 has no car (median compared French town: 11%). Few places have so few second homes: 1.5% here, fewer than in 64% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Households without a car account for 9.7%.
€27,610 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €27,610 a year: higher than in 67% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 14.0% of residents.
Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon ranks above 75% 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
Here 18% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. By way of comparison, 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).
Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon sits above 88% of compared French towns for immigrants (17%)
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.
Here 13% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. The wider picture: 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 29% in Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon, more than in 75% 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: 42% of the total. To put it in context, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification: 23%, a higher share than 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
Here nearly a third of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 30%. The comparison figure for adults with no qualification is 19% in the typical compared French town.
The 3rd youngest of 41 French towns of 11,392 to 11,766 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.
Dugny is the youngest (31.9); Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer the oldest (55.2).
Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon is younger than 5 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon | 35.2 | 12% | 1.5% | 17% |
| La Norville 4,268 · 1 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 1.5% | 9.4% |
| Arpajon 11,698 · 1.1 mi | 37.1 | 17% | 2.5% | 19% |
| Leuville-sur-Orge 4,271 · 1.1 mi | 41.3 | 15% | 0.6% | 8.4% |
| Ollainville 5,455 · 1.6 mi | 36.5 | 12% | 1.2% | 11% |
| Linas 7,987 · 1.9 mi | 33.8 | 12% | 0.7% | 16% |
| Égly 7,166 · 1.9 mi | 35.7 | 14% | 1% | 20% |
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 Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon
What is the population of Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon?
11,623 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 23% more than in 2012 (9,412).
How old are Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon’s residents?
The median age is 35.2, younger than 96% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon?
65, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon?
INSEE counts 1,920 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 17% of residents, and 1,470 foreign nationals (13%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon?
€27,610 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 14.0% 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 9, 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.