Bailleul: 18% of households rent social housing (HLM), above 71% of compared French towns
The figure for empty homes is 4.7% in Bailleul and 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Two in five households are one person living alone, more than in 68% of compared French towns. This Nord town had 14,732 residents in 6,720 households at the 2023 Census. Households headed by a manual worker: 17% of the total.
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.
Bailleul changed by +1% from 2012 to 2023, behind 65% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, ±0% in Nord.
Half of Bailleul is over 44.2, older than 51% 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
■ Bailleul 44.2. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24, about the same as in the typical compared French town. Bailleul has more residents aged 65 and over than 54% of compared French towns, at 23%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Bailleul sits below 65% of compared French towns for couples with children (22%)
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
A household here holds 2.1 people on average. 10% of households are single parents, fewer than in 51% of compared French towns. The share of couples with children in the typical compared French town is 25%.
A lower share of second homes than 87% of compared French towns, at 0.8%
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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up just over one in ten households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 21%. Bailleul has more households without a car than 63% of compared French towns, at 14%. The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
€26,050 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 residents live in households above €26,050 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 51% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 12.0% of the population.
Households headed by a retired person make up 33% in Bailleul, more than in 56% 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 manager or professional account for 8.8%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 2.9% of residents are immigrants in Bailleul
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.
Immigrants make up a share lower than in 83% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%. Here, 2.1% of residents are foreign nationals. By way of comparison, 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.
Fewer married residents than 71% of compared French towns: 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
26% of residents 15 and over are single. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
In Bailleul, 23% of adults out of school have no qualification, more than in 68% 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
On graduates of higher education, Bailleul sits higher than 51% of compared French towns: 30%. Measured more widely, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
17th highest median age among 41 French towns of 14,380 to 15,097
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Valenton is the youngest (33.9); Saint-Jean-de-Luz the oldest (54.3).
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 2 are older than Bailleul
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bailleul | 44.2 | 23% | 0.8% | 2.9% |
| Steenwerck 3,450 · 3.3 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| Vieux-Berquin 2,628 · 5.1 mi | 42.2 | 19% | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| Nieppe 7,764 · 5.4 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.7% | 3.8% |
| Sailly-sur-la-Lys 3,981 · 5.7 mi | 45.9 | 24% | 0.4% | 2.1% |
| Estaires 6,525 · 6 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 0.7% | 1.5% |
| Erquinghem-Lys 5,341 · 6.4 mi | 39.8 | 18% | 0.7% | 2.5% |
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 Bailleul
What is the population of Bailleul?
14,732 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (14,564).
How old are Bailleul’s residents?
The median age is 44.2, older than 51% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bailleul?
57, with occasional dwellings: 0.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bailleul?
INSEE counts 430 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 310 foreign nationals (2.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bailleul?
€26,050 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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.