Photo: War Department. 1789-9/18/1947 · Public domainHalf of Denain is under 34, younger than 98% of compared French towns
Households without a car: 32% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Denain counted 20,665 residents and 8,040 households at the 2023 Census. 16% of households are single parents. Empty homes are more common here than in 85% of compared French towns.
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 Denain
A young town
Half of Denain’s residents are under 34 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 25% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
31% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 30% rent privately and 38% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Denain’s population moved +2% on 2012, less than in 61% 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
Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Nord town ±0%.
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 95% of compared French towns, at 15%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Denain 34. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 14%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 28%, a higher share than 63% 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
A household here holds 2.5 people on average. Set beside that, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 36%, more than in 53% of compared French towns.
Households in social housing make up 31% in Denain, more than in 93% 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
21% of homes are flats; in the typical compared French town the figure is 30%. Elsewhere, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Across Denain, 0.4% of homes are second homes.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €16,330 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.
At €16,330 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 99% of compared French towns. Some 45.0% of residents fall below the poverty line.
Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 97% of compared French towns: 2.9%
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
The figure for households headed by a retired person is 25% in Denain and 32% in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manual worker: 30% of the total. Across the comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
8.8% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 77% 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.
11% of residents are immigrants; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.5%. Measured more widely, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. That is higher than in 72% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
34% of residents 15 and over are single, a share 90% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
36% are married and 2.8% in a PACS, against 43% and 6.1% in the median compared French town; 8.4% are widowed. As a reference point, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 99% of compared French towns, at 13%
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
Set against 19% in the typical compared French town, just over a third of adults out of school have no qualification in Denain. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 2nd youngest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Ages run from 32.6 in Carrières-sous-Poissy to 53.9 in Concarneau.
No nearby town is as young as Denain
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denain | 34 | 14% | 0.4% | 11% |
| Douchy-les-Mines 10,109 · 1.7 mi | 38.6 | 18% | 0.4% | 5.3% |
| Lourches 3,734 · 1.8 mi | 35.1 | 15% | 0.5% | 8.2% |
| Haveluy 3,222 · 1.9 mi | 37.2 | 17% | 0.6% | 4.8% |
| Escaudain 9,039 · 2.2 mi | 36.5 | 17% | 0.5% | 5.3% |
| Neuville-sur-Escaut 2,901 · 2.6 mi | 38.3 | 18% | 0.4% | 2.1% |
| Rœulx 3,743 · 2.8 mi | 40.2 | 19% | 0.3% | 2.2% |
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 Denain
What is the population of Denain?
20,665 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (20,270).
How old are Denain’s residents?
The median age is 34, younger than 98% of compared French towns. 30% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Denain?
38, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Denain?
INSEE counts 2,170 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 11% of residents, and 1,820 foreign nationals (8.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Denain?
€16,330 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 45.0% 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.