In Bavay, 13% of households are single parents, more than in 83% of compared French towns
Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in 89% of compared French towns. Bavay is home to 3,249 residents in 1,470 households, by the 2023 Census. Households headed by a retired person account for 37%. The figure for households in social housing is 16% in Bavay and 12% in the typical compared French town.
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 Bavay
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bavay had 3,435 residents at the 2012 census and 3,249 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 89% of compared French towns: Bavay changed by −5% since 2012
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 −2% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% in Nord.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 69% of compared French towns: 25%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bavay 45.2. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 45.2, Bavay is older than 58% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 53% of compared French towns, at 36%
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
The average household has 2.2 people. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 53% of compared French towns. The share of one-person households in the typical compared French town is 35%.
Below 77% of compared French towns: 15% of homes are flats
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
11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, against 15% in Bavay. On average, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. Census figures put empty homes at 8.9% in the town. Second homes are rarer here than in 75% of compared French towns.
A median of €23,060 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 €23,060 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 81% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 20.0% of residents.
Below 67% of compared French towns: 7.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional
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
Locally, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manager or professional come to 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.7% of Bavay’s residents are immigrants
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.
The median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 57% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up about one in 18 here (5.7%). Foreign nationals: 4.2%, near enough the figure 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.
Only 37% of residents 15 and over are married in Bavay
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Bavay comes in at 30%. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
26% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 65% 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
22% of adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Among 41 French towns of 3,222 to 3,277 people, the 18th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Ormoy (32.2), the youngest, and Jard-sur-Mer (68.1), the oldest.
Bavay is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bavay | 45.2 | 25% | 1.1% | 5.7% |
| Feignies 6,703 · 5.3 mi | 40.3 | 19% | 0.7% | 9.5% |
| Hautmont 14,152 · 6.1 mi | 37.8 | 18% | 0.6% | 8.3% |
| Berlaimont 3,159 · 6.3 mi | 42.9 | 25% | 1.3% | 3.1% |
| Aulnoye-Aymeries 8,612 · 6.7 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 0.9% | 4.7% |
| Maubeuge 28,767 · 7.2 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 1.8% | 14% |
| Louvroil 6,294 · 7.4 mi | 35 | 17% | 0.6% | 20% |
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 Bavay
What is the population of Bavay?
3,249 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (3,435).
How old are Bavay’s residents?
The median age is 45.2, older than 58% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bavay?
19, with occasional dwellings: 1.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bavay?
INSEE counts 190 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.7% of residents, and 130 foreign nationals (4.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bavay?
€23,060 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 20.0% 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.