Bobigny is younger than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 34.2
In Bobigny, 20% of households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. Census day 2023: 56,927 residents and 20,850 households in the town. About one in two: that is how common households without a car are in Bobigny (47%). The town has more flats than 93% of compared French towns, at 77%.
Throughout this page, the Seine-Saint-Denis 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 Bobigny
Immigrants
INSEE counts 22,000 immigrants in Bobigny (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 39% of residents, against 29% for the median compared commune in Seine-Saint-Denis. 33% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Bobigny’s residents are under 34.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 23% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
49% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 25% rent privately and 24% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Growing fast
Bobigny had 48,496 residents at the 2012 census and 56,927 in 2023, up 17%: faster growth than in 86% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Growth of +17% since 2012 puts Bobigny ahead of 86% 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 +11% for the median Seine-Saint-Denis town, the change came in two steps: +11% from 2012 to 2017, then +6% to 2023.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 97% of compared French towns: 12%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bobigny 34.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 16% in Bobigny. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Seine-Saint-Denis 51.1%, France 51.8%.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 18% of households are single parents
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 Seine-Saint-Denis median and the France median
Living alone · share
In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children; in Bobigny, 32%. Set beside that, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Households average 2.7 people.
More households in social housing than 99% of compared French towns: 49%
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
Empty homes: 4.2%, below 85% of compared French towns. For households in social housing, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 12%. In Bobigny, 0.7% of homes are second homes.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €18,050 a year
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 €18,050 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 99% of compared French towns. One measure of hardship: 37.9% of residents are below the poverty line.
Bobigny ranks above 81% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 19%
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, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Bobigny, 7.4%. By way of comparison, 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).
More immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 39%
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.
A third of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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 larger share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns: 40%
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
In Bobigny, 43% of residents 15 and over are married. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Adults with no qualification: 37%, a higher share than 99% 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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 21% in Bobigny and 30% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
The 9th youngest of 41 French towns of 51,811 to 62,376 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 Vaulx-en-Velin (32.5), the youngest, and Hyères (50.9), the oldest.
No nearby town is as young as Bobigny
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobigny | 34.2 | 12% | 0.7% | 39% |
| Drancy 72,390 · 1 mi | 35.9 | 13% | 1.2% | 35% |
| Noisy-le-Sec 45,510 · 1.3 mi | 35.3 | 12% | 0.9% | 31% |
| Romainville 37,152 · 1.8 mi | 35.6 | 11% | 0.7% | 25% |
| Bondy 50,595 · 1.8 mi | 36.5 | 14% | 0.9% | 34% |
| Pantin 61,929 · 1.8 mi | 35.7 | 12% | 2.9% | 31% |
| Le Bourget 15,925 · 2.1 mi | 36 | 14% | 1.6% | 40% |
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 Bobigny
What is the population of Bobigny?
56,927 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 17% more than in 2012 (48,496).
How old are Bobigny’s residents?
The median age is 34.2, younger than 97% of compared French towns. 27% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bobigny?
150, with occasional dwellings: 0.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bobigny?
INSEE counts 22,020 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 39% of residents, and 19,000 foreign nationals (33%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bobigny?
€18,050 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 37.9% 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 9, 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.