A higher share of couples with children than 90% of compared French towns, at 34%
21% of households are headed by a manager or professional (typical compared French town: 9.4%). Mériel counted 5,347 residents and 2,160 households at the 2023 Census. Residents aged 65 and over make up about one in six here (16%). On empty homes, Mériel sits lower than 78% of compared French towns: 4.7%.
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 Mériel
A town of families
34% of households are couples with children and 12% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Mériel grew +12% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 75% 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 +7%, and from 2017 to 2023 +5%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Val-d'Oise town +8%.
Younger than 71% of compared French towns: half of Mériel is under 41.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Mériel 41.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Mériel sits close to the norm on residents aged 15 to 24: 11%, about the same as 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%.
Mériel sits below 90% of compared French towns for one-person households (26%)
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
On average, 2.5 people share a household. Typically, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. 12% of households are single parents, more than in 74% of compared French towns.
Mériel ranks below 65% of compared French towns on households without a car: 8.3%
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
Long tenure is the mark of 21% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 11% (under two years). At 1.3%, the share of second homes is lower than in 71% of compared French towns. With flats at 24%, Mériel is behind just over three fifths of compared French towns on that count.
A median of €30,350 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.
At €30,350 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 86% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 9.0% of residents.
A lower share of households headed by a retired person than 88% of compared French towns, at 24%
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 manual worker: 11%, below 70% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
8.9% of residents are immigrants, more than in 65% 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.
Foreign nationals: 6.2% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 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.
46% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 72% 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
Census figures put single residents at 25% in Mériel. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
14% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 77% 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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Mériel has 36%. By way of comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 12th youngest of 41 French towns of 5,289 to 5,411 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.
The youngest is Cruseilles (36.3), the oldest Bretignolles-sur-Mer (62.9).
Mériel and its 6 nearest towns: 3 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mériel | 41.3 | 16% | 1.3% | 8.9% |
| Frépillon 3,317 · 1.7 mi | 39 | 14% | 0.7% | 8.2% |
| Méry-sur-Oise 9,983 · 1.7 mi | 37.9 | 12% | 0.7% | 15% |
| Auvers-sur-Oise 6,863 · 2.1 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 3.4% | 9.4% |
| Bessancourt 8,869 · 2.5 mi | 36.9 | 15% | 1% | 15% |
| Parmain 5,655 · 2.5 mi | 42.6 | 18% | 2.2% | 8.4% |
| L'Isle-Adam 12,493 · 2.8 mi | 47.1 | 27% | 3.5% | 10% |
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 Mériel
What is the population of Mériel?
5,347 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% more than in 2012 (4,765).
How old are Mériel’s residents?
The median age is 41.3, younger than 71% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Mériel?
29, with occasional dwellings: 1.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Mériel?
INSEE counts 470 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.9% of residents, and 330 foreign nationals (6.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Mériel?
€30,350 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 9.0% 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.