A higher share of couples with children than 99% of compared French towns, at 41%
1.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), against 12% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census, 1,682 people lived in Bourghelles, in 650 households. Put another way, about one in 43: 2.3% of homes are flats. Fewer households without a car than in 92% of compared French towns: 4.4%.
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 Bourghelles
A town of families
41% of households are couples with children and 4.6% single parents with children; 17% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Many graduates
53% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 20% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 53% of compared French towns: Bourghelles changed by +4% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +3%, and from 2017 to 2023 +1%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nord town ±0%.
In Bourghelles, 18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 75% 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
■ Bourghelles 45.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 13%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. On top of that, the median age in Bourghelles is 45.5, higher than in 60% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Only 20% of households are one person living alone in Bourghelles
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
Average household size: 2.6 people. At 4.6%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
In Bourghelles, 0.9% of homes are second homes, fewer than in 86% 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
Empty homes: 5.8%, near enough the figure in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 6.4% moved in during the last two years and 23% have stayed three decades or more.
Median standard of living: €33,970 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 €33,970 a year per consumption unit, higher than in 95% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 30% in Bourghelles, more than in 97% 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 make up 29%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. The share of households headed by a manual worker stands at 4.6%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Bourghelles, 2.7% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 85% of compared French towns
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 85% of compared French towns. Locally, 1.2% of residents are foreign nationals. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A larger share of married residents than 96% of compared French towns: 52%
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
Here 23% of residents 15 and over are single, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
In Bourghelles, 53% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 95% 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
In the typical compared French town, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification; in Bourghelles, 11%. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
21st highest median age among 41 French towns of 1,682 to 2,582
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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
1 of 6 neighbors are older than Bourghelles
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourghelles | 45.5 | 18% | 0.9% | 2.7% |
| Cysoing 4,839 · 1.4 mi | 44.1 | 22% | 1.4% | 3.3% |
| Genech 2,803 · 2.2 mi | 39.9 | 16% | 1.1% | 3.3% |
| Camphin-en-Pévèle 2,518 · 2.6 mi | 41 | 15% | 0.1% | 3.2% |
| Templeuve-en-Pévèle 7,202 · 3.8 mi | 43 | 19% | 0.8% | 2.5% |
| Baisieux 5,545 · 3.9 mi | 39.4 | 16% | 0.5% | 4.4% |
| Chéreng 3,078 · 3.9 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 0.7% | 2.9% |
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 Bourghelles
What is the population of Bourghelles?
1,682 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% more than in 2012 (1,616).
How old are Bourghelles’ residents?
The median age is 45.5, older than 60% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bourghelles?
6, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bourghelles?
INSEE counts 45 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.7% of residents, and 21 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bourghelles?
€33,970 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.