Photo: Mspecht · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 38.4: Mérignac is younger than 87% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 6.7% in the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes in Mérignac comes in at 3.6%. 20% of households are headed by a manager or professional, or about one in five. On one-person households, Mérignac sits higher than 84% of compared French towns: 45%. In 2023, the Census found 78,090 residents in the town, living in 38,990 households.
Throughout this page, the Gironde 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 Mérignac
A young town
Half of Mérignac’s residents are under 38.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 16% are under 15 and 18% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Mérignac had 66,660 residents at the 2012 census and 78,090 in 2023, up 17%: faster growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A growing town: +17% since 2012, faster than 86% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and +16% for the median Gironde town, the change came in two steps: +5% from 2012 to 2017, then +11% to 2023.
Below 78% of compared French towns: 18% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mérignac 38.4. The median compared French town: 44.
13% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). As a reference point, 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: Gironde 51.8%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 20%, a lower share than 74% 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 Gironde median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2 people on average. Elsewhere, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are more common here than in 61% of compared French towns.
A larger share of flats than 87% of compared French towns: 65%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car is 11%; Mérignac has 15%. Set beside that, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing account for 19%. Compared with other places, second homes are common here: 4.3%, more than in 73% of compared French towns.
Half above, half below €27,750 a year in 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 €27,750 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 68% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 13.6%.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 86% 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
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Mérignac has 9.5%. As a yardstick, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Mérignac, 11% of residents are immigrants, more than in 74% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Mérignac has 8.7%. Across the comparison, 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.
Married residents: 33%, a lower share than 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
Where a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, Mérignac has 33%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Graduates of higher education: 46%, a higher share than 89% 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
The figure for adults with no qualification is 13% in Mérignac and 19% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 65,064 to 93,941 people, the 18th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Poitiers is the youngest (30); Cannes the oldest (50.3).
Mérignac is younger than 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mérignac | 38.4 | 18% | 4.3% | 11% |
| Pessac 67,339 · 2.6 mi | 37 | 18% | 2.7% | 11% |
| Eysines 24,825 · 2.8 mi | 39.3 | 18% | 1.2% | 9.6% |
| Le Bouscat 25,081 · 3 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 2.4% | 8.6% |
| Le Haillan 11,392 · 3.1 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Bordeaux 267,991 · 3.2 mi | 33.9 | 15% | 6.9% | 12% |
| Talence 46,338 · 3.5 mi | 30.5 | 14% | 4.4% | 14% |
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 Mérignac
What is the population of Mérignac?
78,090 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 17% more than in 2012 (66,660).
How old are Mérignac’s residents?
The median age is 38.4, younger than 87% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mérignac?
1,820, with occasional dwellings: 4.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mérignac?
INSEE counts 8,460 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 6,800 foreign nationals (8.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mérignac?
€27,750 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 13.6% 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.