A higher share of couples with children than 95% of compared French towns, at 36%
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 627 people lived in Berthen, in 250 households. About one in 30: that is how common empty homes are in Berthen (3.3%). The figure for households without a car is 4% in Berthen and 11% 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 Berthen
A town of families
36% of households are couples with children and 6% single parents with children; 22% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Berthen had 510 residents at the 2012 census and 627 in 2023, up 23%: faster growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Berthen grew +23% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 93% 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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +8%, then +14% to 2023. Over those years, the median Nord town changed ±0% and the median compared French town +5%.
Younger than 78% of compared French towns: half of Berthen is under 40.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Berthen 40.2. The median compared French town: 44.
11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 8.8% in Berthen. On the census count, 17% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
In Berthen, 24% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns
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
Households average 2.5 people. As a yardstick, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, single-parent households are scarce here: 6%, fewer than in 96% of compared French towns.
Flats: 5.5%, a lower share than 95% of compared French towns
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
6% of households arrived within the last two years, while 26% have stayed 30 years or more. More second homes than in 79% of compared French towns: 5.5%.
At the median, €27,720 a year to live on
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 €27,720 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 68% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker: 16%, a higher share than 63% 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 retired person come to 32% in Berthen, about three in ten. More households headed by a manager or professional than in 53% of compared French towns: 10%. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manual worker come to 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns, at 1%
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.5% of residents are foreign nationals in Berthen. To put it in context, 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.
18% of residents 15 and over are single, below 98% 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
Married residents make up 52%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In Berthen, 9.4% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 97% 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
Compared with 30% in the typical compared French town, 38% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification here. In the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%.
The 3rd youngest of 41 French towns of 627 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Berthen is younger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berthen | 40.2 | 17% | 5.5% | 1% |
| Bailleul 14,732 · 3.8 mi | 44.2 | 23% | 0.8% | 2.9% |
| Steenvoorde 4,332 · 5.2 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Vieux-Berquin 2,628 · 6.3 mi | 42.2 | 19% | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| Steenwerck 3,450 · 7.2 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| Hazebrouck 21,912 · 7.7 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1% | 3.1% |
| Nieppe 7,764 · 8.9 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.7% | 3.8% |
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 Berthen
What is the population of Berthen?
627 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 23% more than in 2012 (510).
How old are Berthen’s residents?
The median age is 40.2, younger than 78% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Berthen?
15, with occasional dwellings: 5.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Berthen?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Berthen?
€27,720 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). 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.