In Sens, 34% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 95% of compared French towns
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 65% in Sens. At the 2023 Census, 27,106 people lived locally, in 13,030 households. In Sens, 28% of households have no car. On couples with children, Sens sits lower than 82% of compared French towns: 18%.
Throughout this page, the Yonne 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 Sens
Immigrants
INSEE counts 5,300 immigrants in Sens (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 20% of residents, against 9.2% for the median compared commune in Yonne. 16% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Social housing
34% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 29% rent privately and 35% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
48% of Sens’ households are one person: higher than in 89% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, Sens outgrew 63% of compared French towns: +8%
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
In two steps, +3% to 2017 and +5% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −4% in Yonne.
Sens is younger than 65% of compared French towns: a median age of 42.1
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Sens 42.1. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 12% in Sens and 11% in the typical compared French town. Here, 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Yonne 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A larger share of one-person households than 89% of compared French towns: 48%
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 Yonne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Compared with 10% in the typical compared French town, 13% of households are single parents here. Households average 2 people. Typically, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
More empty homes than 78% of compared French towns: 9.8%
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
Without a car: one household in four, against 11% in the median compared French town. Empty homes make up 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 16% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 12%. Higher than in 58% of compared French towns: 2.6% of homes are second homes.
A median of €20,780 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.
Living standards centre on €20,780 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 94% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 29.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manual worker: 18%, a higher share than 76% 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
For Sens, the census puts households headed by a manager or professional at 8.8%. Households headed by a retired person are more common here than in 52% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Sens, 20% of residents are immigrants, more than in 92% 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.
16% of residents are foreign nationals, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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.
33% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 88% 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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, 38% of residents 15 and over are married here. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Adults with no qualification: 30%, a higher share than 91% 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
With graduates of higher education at 25%, Sens is behind just over two thirds of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
13th highest median age among 41 French towns of 25,789 to 28,046
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Grigny (31), the youngest, and Biarritz (55.2), the oldest.
Every neighbor is older than Sens
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sens | 42.1 | 23% | 2.6% | 20% |
| Saint-Clément 2,849 · 1.4 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 2.1% | 14% |
| Paron 4,834 · 2 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 1.5% | 12% |
| Pont-sur-Yonne 3,391 · 7.3 mi | 45.2 | 27% | 5.9% | 9.2% |
| Villeneuve-sur-Yonne 5,135 · 8 mi | 49.9 | 29% | 7.5% | 6.3% |
| Villeneuve-la-Guyard 3,455 · 14.4 mi | 42.3 | 19% | 4.2% | 7.8% |
| Joigny 9,016 · 15.9 mi | 43.4 | 25% | 4.8% | 21% |
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 Sens
What is the population of Sens?
27,106 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (25,106).
How old are Sens’ residents?
The median age is 42.1, younger than 65% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sens?
390, with occasional dwellings: 2.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sens?
INSEE counts 5,340 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 20% of residents, and 4,450 foreign nationals (16%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sens?
€20,780 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 29.0% 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.