50% of households are one person living alone, more than in 93% of compared French towns
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, nearly two thirds of homes are flats here. Épernay is home to 22,174 residents in 11,450 households, by the 2023 Census. 27% of households rent social housing (HLM). Few places have as many households without a car: 24% here, more than in 90% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Marne 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 Épernay
Many people living alone
50% of Épernay’s households are one person: higher than in 93% of compared French towns; 45% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Épernay had 23,529 residents at the 2012 census and 22,174 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−6% since 2012, a pace below 90% 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 −2% for the median Marne town, the change came in two steps: −4% from 2012 to 2017, then −2% to 2023.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 82% of compared French towns: 13%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Épernay 44. The median compared French town: 44.
Locally, 23% of residents are 65 or over. The median age in Épernay is 44, lower than in 50% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Marne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
Épernay sits below 84% of compared French towns for couples with children (17%)
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 Marne median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 1.9 people. Few places have as many single-parent households: 10% here, more than in 55% of compared French towns. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Épernay: 5.2% of homes are second homes, above 78% 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
Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, one in ten homes stand empty in Épernay. Long tenure is the mark of 13% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 14% (under two years). The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
A median of €23,270 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.
Half of residents live in households above €23,270 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 79% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 21.1% of residents are below the line.
Above 89% of compared French towns: 22% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
Households headed by a manager or professional: 7.7%, below 62% of compared French towns. Nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Épernay: 9.6% of residents are foreign nationals, above 80% 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.
11% of residents are immigrants; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.5%. Set beside that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Marne has 4.9%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in three quarters 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.
In Épernay, 33% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Épernay comes in at 32%. The wider picture: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Épernay sits above 81% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (26%)
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 30% in the typical compared French town, just over a quarter of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (21,443 to 22,943 people), the 15th 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.
The youngest is Loos (33), the oldest Challans (52.5).
Around Épernay, 5 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Épernay | 44 | 23% | 5.2% | 11% |
| Aÿ-Champagne 5,103 · 2.9 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 3.2% | 2.5% |
| Blancs-Coteaux 3,080 · 9.2 mi | 51.4 | 30% | 3.9% | 1.9% |
| Bezannes 5,039 · 12.8 mi | 31.7 | 15% | 2.6% | 7% |
| Cormontreuil 6,534 · 13.2 mi | 50.9 | 31% | 0.8% | 4.9% |
| Dormans 2,890 · 14.5 mi | 48.9 | 28% | 3.7% | 4.9% |
| Tinqueux 10,771 · 14.5 mi | 44.4 | 24% | 0.8% | 6.1% |
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 Épernay
What is the population of Épernay?
22,174 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (23,529).
How old are Épernay’s residents?
The median age is 44, younger than 50% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Épernay?
710, with occasional dwellings: 5.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Épernay?
INSEE counts 2,480 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 2,120 foreign nationals (9.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Épernay?
€23,270 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.1% 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.