Inhabited since pre-Roman times, the area is thought to have been a small village up through the Middle Ages.

Towards the end of Napoleon's reign, the entire area experienced large population growth.

This along with improved methods of farming eventually transformed the area into the major legume producer for the Paris regional.

Industrial estates were juxtaposed with bean plantations and that would continue until after World War II.

During the 1960s, as Paris could no longer meet the demands of a further exploding population (largely the result of immigration from former colonies), La Courneuve, like many other suburbs of Paris, was designated as one of the "zones à urbaniser en priorité" (areas to be urbanized quickly) and was built up at a very rapid pace, with the construction of large council estates and tower blocks and other HLM developments.