A larger share of flats than 98% of compared French towns: 89%
With single-parent households at 14%, Échirolles is ahead of 91% of compared French towns on that count. The median age locally is 38.8, lower than in 85% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 37,491, in 16,520 households. In Échirolles, a quarter of households have no car.
Throughout this page, the Isère 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 Échirolles
Immigrants
INSEE counts 8,900 immigrants in Échirolles (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 24% of residents, against 8% for the median compared commune in Isère. 18% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Social housing
37% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 17% rent privately and 45% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Échirolles changed by +5% from 2012 to 2023, behind 51% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +3%; from 2017 to 2023, +2%.
Échirolles sits above 91% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (14%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Échirolles 38.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over, against 22% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 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: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 41% in Échirolles, more than in 75% 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 Isère median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2.2 people on average. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 57% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Above 97% of compared French towns: 37% of households rent social housing (HLM)
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
Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 1.2%. Against that, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. About one in 16: that is how common empty homes are in Échirolles (6.4%).
The median resident lives on €21,900 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €21,900 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 89% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 27.3% of residents.
In Échirolles, 18% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 72% 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
The figure for households headed by a retired person is 30% in Échirolles and 32% in the typical compared French town. The census found that 7.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional locally. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 96% of compared French towns, at 24%
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 share of foreign nationals is 18%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Isère has 8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 96% 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.
A larger share of single residents than 85% of compared French towns: 32%
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
Two in five residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Échirolles sits above 85% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (27%)
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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in Échirolles comes in at 27%. To put it in context, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (35,177 to 39,800 people), the 20th 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.
Ages run from 29.9 in Saint-Martin-d'Hères to 58.9 in Saint-Raphaël.
4 of 6 neighbors are older than Échirolles
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Échirolles | 38.8 | 19% | 1.2% | 24% |
| Le Pont-de-Claix 10,956 · 1.3 mi | 38.7 | 18% | 0.8% | 21% |
| Seyssins 8,092 · 1.6 mi | 46.3 | 26% | 1.3% | 7.5% |
| Eybens 10,493 · 1.6 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 1.4% | 13% |
| Grenoble 156,140 · 2.2 mi | 32.5 | 15% | 4.2% | 20% |
| Seyssinet-Pariset 11,739 · 2.2 mi | 44.9 | 25% | 1.5% | 11% |
| Claix 7,836 · 2.7 mi | 47.6 | 24% | 1.7% | 5.2% |
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 Échirolles
What is the population of Échirolles?
37,491 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% more than in 2012 (35,826).
How old are Échirolles’ residents?
The median age is 38.8, younger than 85% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Échirolles?
220, with occasional dwellings: 1.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Échirolles?
INSEE counts 8,890 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 24% of residents, and 6,590 foreign nationals (18%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Échirolles?
€21,900 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 27.3% 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 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.