Photo: ManoSolo13241324 · CC0Younger than 92% of compared French towns: half of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge is under 36.9
Flats: 67% here and 30% in the typical compared French town. There were 9,090 households in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge at the 2023 Census, home to 21,776 residents. Here, 24% of households rent social housing (HLM). Compared with other places, households without a car are common here: 18%, more than in 77% 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-Michel-sur-Orge
Immigrants
INSEE counts 4,700 immigrants in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 22% of residents, against 13% for the median compared commune in Essonne. 19% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge’s residents are under 36.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 22% are under 15 and 15% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A growing town: +8% since 2012, faster than 63% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −2%, then +10% to 2023. Over those years, the median Essonne town changed +6% and the median compared French town +5%.
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge sits below 89% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (15%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Michel-sur-Orge 36.9. The median compared French town: 44.
12% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Essonne 51.3%, France 51.8%.
14% of households are single parents, more than in 91% 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
Couples with children make up 28%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. Average household size: 2.4 people.
1.2% of homes are second homes, fewer than in 72% 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
Long tenure is the mark of 16% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 10% (under two years). In the typical compared French town, the share of second homes is 2.1%. At 6.8%, the share of empty homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €25,610 a year to live on
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 €25,610 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 53% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 18.3%.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 85% of compared French towns: 24%
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
By its share of households headed by a manager or professional (16%), Saint-Michel-sur-Orge is above 78% of compared French towns. Households headed by a retired person: 32% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. The share of households headed by a manual worker stands at 15%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge: 22% of residents are immigrants, above 94% 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.
19% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Essonne has 13%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 94% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Above 78% of compared French towns: 30% of residents 15 and over are single
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
The share of married residents trails 63% of compared French towns: 41%. For comparison, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge ranks above 69% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 36%
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 account for 18%. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (21,105 to 22,457 people), the 11th 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-Cyr-l'École (34.5), the youngest, and Gujan-Mestras (52.5), the oldest.
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 4 are older than Saint-Michel-sur-Orge
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Michel-sur-Orge | 36.9 | 15% | 1.2% | 22% |
| Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois 35,438 · 1 mi | 40.8 | 18% | 1.1% | 21% |
| Longpont-sur-Orge 6,482 · 1.5 mi | 39.7 | 16% | 0.8% | 11% |
| Le Plessis-Pâté 4,154 · 1.5 mi | 39.1 | 17% | 1.5% | 11% |
| Villiers-sur-Orge 4,545 · 1.8 mi | 42.7 | 17% | 0.7% | 8.6% |
| Brétigny-sur-Orge 26,658 · 1.9 mi | 34.9 | 13% | 1.2% | 18% |
| Fleury-Mérogis 13,721 · 2.1 mi | 30.2 | 4.7% | 0.8% | 29% |
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-Michel-sur-Orge
What is the population of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge?
21,776 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (20,188).
How old are Saint-Michel-sur-Orge’s residents?
The median age is 36.9, younger than 92% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge?
120, with occasional dwellings: 1.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge?
INSEE counts 4,700 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 22% of residents, and 4,210 foreign nationals (19%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge?
€25,610 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.3% 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.