A median age of 32.5: Grenoble is younger than 99% of compared French towns
The share of households headed by a manager or professional tops 92% of compared French towns: 23%. There were 84,100 households in Grenoble at the 2023 Census, home to 156,140 residents. Census figures put households without a car at 40% in the town. The town has more second homes than 73% of compared French towns, at 4.2%.
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 Grenoble
A young town
Half of Grenoble’s residents are under 32.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 14% are under 15 and 15% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
55% of Grenoble’s households are one person: higher than in 98% of compared French towns; 47% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 30,600 immigrants in Grenoble (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 20% of residents, against 8% for the median compared commune in Isère. 16% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Many graduates
52% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 28% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−1% since 2012: slower than 76% 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 population moved ±0%, and from 2017 to 2023 −1%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Isère town +7%.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 21% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Grenoble 32.5. The median compared French town: 44.
With residents aged 65 and over at 15%, Grenoble is behind 90% of compared French towns on that count.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Isère 51.3%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 98% of compared French towns, at 55%
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
Single-parent households make up 8%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. Grenoble has fewer couples with children than 93% of compared French towns, at 14%. One-person households make up 35% in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 1.8 people on average.
Flats: 95%, a higher share than 99% 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
Just over a fifth of households moved in less than two years ago; 9.9% have been in their home 30 years or more. Higher than in 93% of compared French towns: 14% of homes stand empty. In the typical compared French town, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM); in Grenoble, 16%.
A median of €24,270 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 €24,270 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 68% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 23.6%.
Grenoble sits below 95% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (20%)
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
With households headed by a manual worker at 9.3%, Grenoble is behind just over four fifths of compared French towns on that count. To put it in context, nearly a third 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).
A larger share of immigrants than 92% of compared French towns: 20%
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 Isère has 8%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 92% of compared French towns. Foreign nationals: 16% of the total. In the typical compared French town, 6.5% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Only 27% of residents 15 and over are married in Grenoble
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 single residents tops 99% of compared French towns: 43%.
Grenoble ranks above 94% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 52%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 17% of adults out of school have no qualification here. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 4th youngest of 41 French towns of 104,978 to 230,890 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.
At the ends of the range sit Rennes (30.9), the youngest, and Paris 16e (43.7), the oldest.
5 of 6 neighbors are older than Grenoble
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grenoble | 32.5 | 15% | 4.2% | 20% |
| Seyssinet-Pariset 11,739 · 1.6 mi | 44.9 | 25% | 1.5% | 11% |
| Saint-Martin-d'Hères 37,695 · 1.7 mi | 29.9 | 13% | 1.3% | 22% |
| La Tronche 6,424 · 2 mi | 34.9 | 19% | 3.4% | 11% |
| Fontaine 22,020 · 2 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 1% | 22% |
| Échirolles 37,491 · 2.2 mi | 38.8 | 19% | 1.2% | 24% |
| Eybens 10,493 · 2.2 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 1.4% | 13% |
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 Grenoble
What is the population of Grenoble?
156,140 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (158,346).
How old are Grenoble’s residents?
The median age is 32.5, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Grenoble?
4,320, with occasional dwellings: 4.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Grenoble?
INSEE counts 30,640 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 20% of residents, and 24,770 foreign nationals (16%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Grenoble?
€24,270 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 23.6% 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.