A median age of 32.9: Persan is younger than 99% of compared French towns
Nearly a third of households are couples with children, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Census day 2023: 14,359 residents and 5,330 households in Persan. Households headed by a retired person: 17% of the total. More households without a car than in 86% of compared French towns: 21%.
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 Persan
Immigrants
INSEE counts 3,800 immigrants in Persan (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 27% of residents, against 16% for the median compared commune in Val-d'Oise. 22% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Persan’s residents are under 32.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 25% are under 15 and 10% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
Persan had 11,233 residents at the 2012 census and 14,359 in 2023, up 28%: faster growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Social housing
38% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 22% rent privately and 38% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Faster growth than 96% of compared French towns: Persan changed by +28% since 2012
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 years 2012 to 2017 brought +13%; 2017 to 2023, +13%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Val-d'Oise town +8%.
In Persan, 10% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 99% 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
■ Persan 32.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 93% of compared French towns: 14%. Typically, 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: Val-d'Oise 51.5%, France 51.8%.
Persan ranks above 98% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 16%
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
With one-person households at 33%, Persan is behind 60% of compared French towns on that count. A household here holds 2.6 people on average. On average, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
38% of households rent social housing (HLM), a share 97% 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
One household in five has no car (median compared French town: 11%). At 67%, the share of flats is higher than in 88% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM). The share of second homes stands at 0.3%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €21,410 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.
Half of residents live in households above €21,410 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 92% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 25.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manual worker: 23%, a higher share than 93% of compared French towns
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 77% of compared French towns: 6%. 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).
Above 97% of compared French towns: 27% 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.
In Persan, 22% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 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.
Persan sits above 95% of compared French towns for single residents (37%)
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 the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Persan has 37%. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
In Persan, 29% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 90% 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
20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification (typical compared French town: 30%). Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 14,016 to 14,734 people: this is 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.
Lieusaint is the youngest (30.7); Douarnenez the oldest (55.6).
Persan is younger than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persan | 32.9 | 10% | 0.3% | 27% |
| Beaumont-sur-Oise 10,232 · 1 mi | 36.4 | 14% | 1.4% | 19% |
| Bernes-sur-Oise 2,684 · 1.1 mi | 37.8 | 14% | 0.4% | 15% |
| Chambly 9,959 · 1.7 mi | 40.1 | 17% | 0.9% | 8.6% |
| Champagne-sur-Oise 5,036 · 1.9 mi | 39.3 | 15% | 1% | 9.2% |
| Bruyères-sur-Oise 4,921 · 2.6 mi | 35.2 | 9.7% | 0.6% | 13% |
| Presles 4,017 · 2.8 mi | 44.3 | 19% | 1.1% | 8.2% |
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 Persan
What is the population of Persan?
14,359 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 28% more than in 2012 (11,233).
How old are Persan’s residents?
The median age is 32.9, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 30% are under 18 and 10% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Persan?
20, with occasional dwellings: 0.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Persan?
INSEE counts 3,840 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 27% of residents, and 3,210 foreign nationals (22%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Persan?
€21,410 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 25.0% 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.