A lower share of couples with children than 94% of compared French towns, at 14%
By its share of households without a car (24%), Verdun is above 91% of compared French towns. This Meuse town counted 16,890 residents and 8,880 households at the 2023 Census. Households in social housing make up about one in five here (21%). 26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 72% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Meuse 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 Verdun
Many people living alone
53% of Verdun’s households are one person: higher than in 97% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Verdun had 18,327 residents at the 2012 census and 16,890 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 94% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 1,220 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of −8% since 2012 leaves Verdun behind 94% 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 −5%; from 2017 to 2023, −3%.
In Verdun, 13% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 88% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Verdun 45. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Verdun is 45, higher than in 57% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Meuse 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Verdun ranks above 97% of compared French towns on one-person households: 53%
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 Meuse median and the France median
Living alone · share
The share of single-parent households is 11%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 1.8 people on average.
12% of homes stand empty, more than in 87% 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
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 57% in Verdun. This Meuse town has more second homes than half of compared French towns, at 2.1%. In the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes is 6.7%.
The median resident lives on €23,020 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 median standard of living in Verdun is €23,020 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 81% of compared French towns. 22.0% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
Below 70% of compared French towns: 6.8% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; Verdun has 35%. By way of comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manual worker account for 15%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Verdun, 5.7% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 62% 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.
Few places have as many immigrants: 7.3% here, more than in 56% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
A smaller share of married residents than 95% 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
Just over a third of residents 15 and over are single (typical compared French town: 25%). In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Adults with no qualification make up 23% in Verdun, more than in 68% 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
By its share of graduates of higher education (26%), Verdun is below 64% of compared French towns. Typically, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
18th highest median age among 41 French towns of 16,363 to 17,457
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Boissy-Saint-Léger is the youngest (35.8); La Baule-Escoublac the oldest (60.4).
Verdun is younger than 2 of its 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdun | 45 | 26% | 2.1% | 7.3% |
| Belleville-sur-Meuse 3,013 · 1.2 mi | 45 | 24% | 1.8% | 3.5% |
| Thierville-sur-Meuse 3,172 · 1.6 mi | 37.1 | 19% | 2.6% | 2.9% |
| Étain 3,375 · 11.8 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 1.2% | 3.5% |
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 Verdun
What is the population of Verdun?
16,890 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (18,327).
How old are Verdun’s residents?
The median age is 45, older than 57% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Verdun?
220, with occasional dwellings: 2.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Verdun?
INSEE counts 1,230 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.3% of residents, and 960 foreign nationals (5.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Verdun?
€23,020 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.0% 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.