Half of Argenteuil is under 36.4, younger than 93% of compared French towns
With flats at 69%, Argenteuil is ahead of 89% of compared French towns on that count. The town is home to 106,130 residents in 43,720 households, by the 2023 Census. 13% of households are single parents, or about one in eight. On households without a car, Argenteuil sits higher than 97% of compared French towns: 33%.
Throughout this page, the Val-d'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.
What stands out about the people of Argenteuil
Immigrants
INSEE counts 33,800 immigrants in Argenteuil (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 32% of residents, against 16% for the median compared commune in Val-d'Oise. 26% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Argenteuil’s residents are under 36.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 21% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
29% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 26% rent privately and 43% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Argenteuil changed by +1% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 65% 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 +5%, and from 2017 to 2023 −4%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Val-d'Oise town +8%.
Only 14% of residents are 65 or over in Argenteuil
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Argenteuil 36.4. The median compared French town: 44.
13% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Val-d'Oise 51.5%, France 51.8%.
40% of households are one person living alone, a share 68% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 Val-d'Oise median and the France median
Living alone · share
A household here holds 2.4 people on average. One-person households: 35% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Couples with children are more common here than in 59% of compared French towns.
29% of households rent social housing (HLM), a share 91% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
0.9% of homes are second homes; in the typical compared French town the figure is 2.1%. The benchmark for households in social housing in the typical compared French town: 12%. The census found that 6.1% of homes stand empty in Argenteuil.
Half above, half below €21,300 a year in standard of living
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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €21,300 a year: lower than in 92% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 29.8%.
A lower share of households headed by a retired person than 94% of compared French towns, at 21%
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
Set against 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 16% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Argenteuil. Households headed by a manual worker account for 15%. In the typical compared French town, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns, at 32%
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Argenteuil comes in at 26%. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Argenteuil: 35% of residents 15 and over are single, above 92% 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
Married residents: 43% of the total. On average, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
More adults with no qualification than 82% of compared French towns: 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
The share of graduates of higher education tops 60% of compared French towns: 33%. Against that, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (81,545 to 138,024 people), the 20th 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 Poitiers (30), the oldest Marseille 8e (46.3).
Argenteuil sits below 4 of its 6 closest neighbors on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argenteuil | 36.4 | 14% | 0.9% | 32% |
| Bezons 36,434 · 1.8 mi | 34.6 | 12% | 0.8% | 33% |
| Sannois 26,924 · 1.8 mi | 38.2 | 15% | 0.9% | 20% |
| Colombes 91,053 · 1.9 mi | 36 | 13% | 1.6% | 24% |
| Saint-Gratien 21,336 · 2.3 mi | 38.6 | 18% | 1.9% | 24% |
| Cormeilles-en-Parisis 27,292 · 2.4 mi | 38.5 | 15% | 1.4% | 16% |
| Bois-Colombes 28,909 · 2.6 mi | 38.6 | 14% | 2.7% | 17% |
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 Argenteuil
What is the population of Argenteuil?
106,130 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (104,962).
How old are Argenteuil’s residents?
The median age is 36.4, younger than 93% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Argenteuil?
410, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Argenteuil?
INSEE counts 33,780 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 32% of residents, and 27,190 foreign nationals (26%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Argenteuil?
€21,300 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 29.8% 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.