Younger than 97% of compared French towns: half of Cachan is under 34.9
In the typical compared French town, 32% of households are headed by a retired person; in Cachan, 20%. The 2023 Census counted 31,103 residents in 14,140 households. Four in five homes are flats. Higher than in 88% of compared French towns: 26% of households rent social housing (HLM).
Throughout this page, the Val-de-Marne 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 Cachan
Immigrants
INSEE counts 7,400 immigrants in Cachan (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 24% of residents, against 23% for the median compared commune in Val-de-Marne. 17% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Cachan’s residents are under 34.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 16% are under 15 and 16% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Many graduates
53% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 29% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Cachan has grown +10%, faster than 68% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Val-de-Marne town +7%.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 19%, a higher share than 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
■ Cachan 34.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 16%, below 87% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Val-de-Marne 52.1%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 84% of compared French towns: 45%
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-de-Marne median and the France median
Living alone · share
11% of households are single parents (typical compared French town: 10%). The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%. Couples with children: nearly a quarter of the total.
Cachan ranks above 98% of compared French towns on households without a car: 40%
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
Car-free households: one in two, where the median compared French town has 11%. 5.2% of homes stand empty.
€28,610 a year is the median standard of living here
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 Cachan’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €28,610 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 76% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 17.8% of residents.
28% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 96% 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
Households headed by a manual worker: 6.2% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. Typically, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 24%, a higher share than 96% 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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 17% of residents are foreign nationals in Cachan. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Cachan sits above 98% of compared French towns for single residents (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
Where 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, Cachan has 35%. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
53% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, a share 95% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
16% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 29,778 to 32,465 people, the 8th 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.
Lyon 2e is the youngest (31.3); Agde the oldest (56.2).
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Cachan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cachan | 34.9 | 16% | 1.6% | 24% |
| Bagneux 44,572 · 0.9 mi | 34.8 | 13% | 1.5% | 29% |
| Bourg-la-Reine 21,019 · 1 mi | 38.5 | 18% | 1.9% | 18% |
| Arcueil 22,200 · 1 mi | 35.5 | 13% | 3.2% | 25% |
| L'Haÿ-les-Roses 31,188 · 1.1 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 1.6% | 24% |
| Villejuif 60,183 · 1.4 mi | 35.3 | 13% | 4% | 29% |
| Gentilly 19,963 · 1.7 mi | 35.1 | 13% | 1.6% | 26% |
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 Cachan
What is the population of Cachan?
31,103 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% more than in 2012 (28,365).
How old are Cachan’s residents?
The median age is 34.9, younger than 97% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Cachan?
250, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Cachan?
INSEE counts 7,410 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 24% of residents, and 5,150 foreign nationals (17%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Cachan?
€28,610 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 17.8% 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 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.