Photo: Velvet · CC BY-SA 4.0Younger than 94% of compared French towns: half of Armentières is under 36.1
14% of households are single parents; in the typical compared French town the figure is 10%. Census day 2023: 26,998 residents and 12,210 households in Armentières. Households headed by a retired person: 26% of the total. Higher than in 90% of compared French towns: 24% of households have no car.
Throughout this page, the Nord 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 Armentières
A young town
Half of Armentières’ residents are under 36.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 20% are under 15 and 16% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Armentières has changed by +4%, slower than 54% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nord town ±0%.
Armentières ranks above 94% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 14%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Armentières 36.1. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over trails 87% of compared French towns: 16%. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Armentières sits above 74% of compared French towns for one-person households (41%)
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 Nord median and the France median
Living alone · share
Here just over a fifth of households are couples with children, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town.
More households in social housing than 84% of compared French towns: 24%
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 four has no car (median compared French town: 11%). For Armentières, the census puts flats at 46%. Few places have so few second homes: 0.9% here, fewer than in 83% of compared French towns. Against that, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
A median standard of living of €21,040 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €21,040 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 93% of compared French towns. Below the poverty line: 27.3% of residents.
More households headed by a manual worker than 85% of compared French towns: 21%
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
Put another way, about one in 12: 8.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional. The usual figure: 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).
A higher share of foreign nationals than 69% of compared French towns, at 6.9%
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.
Nearly one in ten residents are immigrants, against 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 63% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Armentières ranks below 94% of compared French towns on married residents: 33%
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 25% in the typical compared French town, a third of residents 15 and over are single here. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Armentières: 26% of adults out of school have no qualification, above 82% 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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Armentières has 26%. On average, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
12th lowest 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.
The youngest is Grigny (31), the oldest Biarritz (55.2).
No nearby town is as young as Armentières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armentières | 36.1 | 16% | 0.9% | 8.5% |
| La Chapelle-d'Armentières 8,754 · 1.3 mi | 41 | 19% | 0.6% | 4.4% |
| Houplines 7,921 · 1.4 mi | 38.6 | 17% | 0.5% | 4.8% |
| Erquinghem-Lys 5,341 · 1.7 mi | 39.8 | 18% | 0.7% | 2.5% |
| Nieppe 7,764 · 1.7 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.7% | 3.8% |
| Frelinghien 2,609 · 3 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 0.6% | 2.9% |
| Fleurbaix 2,947 · 3.5 mi | 46.1 | 24% | 0.5% | 1.9% |
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 Armentières
What is the population of Armentières?
26,998 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (25,993).
How old are Armentières’ residents?
The median age is 36.1, younger than 94% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Armentières?
120, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Armentières?
INSEE counts 2,310 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.5% of residents, and 1,850 foreign nationals (6.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Armentières?
€21,040 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 27.3% 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 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.