Sarcelles is younger than 98% of compared French towns: a median age of 33.6
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is 9.4%; Sarcelles has 5.4%. Compared with other places, second homes are scarce here: 0.6%, fewer than in 93% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 59,173 residents and 20,320 households here. 37% of households have no car, or about one in three.
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 Sarcelles
Immigrants
INSEE counts 21,100 immigrants in Sarcelles (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 36% 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 Sarcelles’ residents are under 33.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
53% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 18% rent privately and 28% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
A town of families
35% of households are couples with children and 20% single parents with children; 24% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 58% of compared French towns grew faster than Sarcelles: +3%
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
Here the change came as +2% to 2017, then +1% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +8% in Val-d'Oise.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 13% in Sarcelles, less than in 96% 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
■ Sarcelles 33.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Sarcelles has 16%. Typically, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Val-d'Oise 51.5%, France 51.8%.
35% of households are couples with children, a share 92% 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
There are 2.9 people in the average household. Set beside that, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are more common here than in 99% of compared French towns. Here 30% of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%.
53% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 99% 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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 7.1% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 18%. The benchmark for households in social housing in the typical compared French town: 12%. On flats, Sarcelles sits higher than 96% of compared French towns: 83%. The share of empty homes trails 72% of compared French towns: 5.2%.
The median resident lives on €18,180 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €18,180 a year: lower than in 99% of compared French towns. 37.3% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
Only 23% of households are headed by a retired person in Sarcelles
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
Here 21% of households are headed by a manual worker, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 14%. Elsewhere, 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).
A larger share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 36%
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.
4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, against 26% in Sarcelles. 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.
A higher share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns, at 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
Just over two in five residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
Sarcelles sits above 99% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (37%)
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
Graduates of higher education make up 20%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, adults with no qualification come to 19%.
The 2nd youngest of 41 French towns of 54,306 to 65,064 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 Corbeil-Essonnes (32.7), the oldest Hyères (50.9).
Sarcelles is younger than 5 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarcelles | 33.6 | 13% | 0.6% | 36% |
| Garges-lès-Gonesse 41,791 · 1.2 mi | 33.9 | 11% | 0.5% | 38% |
| Groslay 8,453 · 1.3 mi | 37.9 | 14% | 0.8% | 16% |
| Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt 15,063 · 1.3 mi | 35.7 | 15% | 0.9% | 18% |
| Villiers-le-Bel 30,053 · 1.8 mi | 32.3 | 10% | 0.7% | 36% |
| Arnouville 15,023 · 1.9 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 1% | 33% |
| Montmagny 15,105 · 1.9 mi | 35.8 | 13% | 0.9% | 29% |
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 Sarcelles
What is the population of Sarcelles?
59,173 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (57,499).
How old are Sarcelles’ residents?
The median age is 33.6, younger than 98% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sarcelles?
130, with occasional dwellings: 0.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sarcelles?
INSEE counts 21,060 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 36% of residents, and 15,200 foreign nationals (26%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sarcelles?
€18,180 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 37.3% 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.