A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 2.1%
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 14%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Households without a car are rarer here than in 83% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 422 residents and 170 households in Plainval. For Plainval, the census puts one-person households at 23%.
Throughout this page, the Oise 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.
A +9% change since 2012: Plainval grew faster than 66% 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
The median Oise town changed +2% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +4% and the next six +5%.
Plainval is younger than 84% of compared French towns: a median age of 39
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Plainval 39. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Plainval has 13%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Oise 51.7%, France 51.8%.
Plainval ranks above 77% of compared French towns on couples with children: 30%
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 Oise median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.5 people share a household. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children. Higher than in 76% of compared French towns: 12% of households are single parents.
8% of households rent social housing (HLM), below 71% 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
Turnover: 9.7% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 19% have lived in their home 30 years or more. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. Lower than in two thirds of compared French towns: 5.5% of homes stand empty. At 2%, the share of second homes is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
A median of €26,210 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 €26,210 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 52% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a retired person than 89% of compared French towns, at 23%
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 share of households headed by a manager or professional trails just over three quarters of compared French towns: 6%. Higher than in 55% of compared French towns: 15% of households are headed by a manual worker. Against that, 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).
Below 75% of compared French towns: 3.8% of residents are immigrants
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.
2.9% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for immigrants is 6.5% 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.
Plainval sits below 82% of compared French towns for single residents (22%)
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 census found that 44% of residents 15 and over are married in Plainval. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
In Plainval, 21% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 61% 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
Put another way, about one in three: 31% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification. The wider picture: 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 422 to 2,582 people, the 2nd youngest
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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Every neighbor is older than Plainval
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainval | 39 | 14% | 2% | 3.8% |
| Saint-Just-en-Chaussée 5,810 · 1.7 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 0.7% | 6.6% |
| Fitz-James 2,514 · 9.6 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 0.5% | 6.6% |
| Breteuil 4,222 · 9.8 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 1.3% | 2.8% |
| Agnetz 3,058 · 10 mi | 44.4 | 18% | 1% | 3% |
| Montdidier 5,935 · 10.1 mi | 46.3 | 25% | 1.8% | 2.3% |
| Clermont 10,564 · 10.5 mi | 39.4 | 17% | 1.5% | 8.5% |
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 Plainval
What is the population of Plainval?
422 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (388).
How old are Plainval’s residents?
The median age is 39, younger than 84% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Plainval?
4, with occasional dwellings: 2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Plainval?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.8% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (2.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Plainval?
€26,210 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). 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 October 30, 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.