Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0Younger than 89% of compared French towns: half of Douai is under 37.8
The figure for single-parent households is 13% in Douai and 10% in the typical compared French town. The 2023 Census counted 40,250 residents in 18,920 households. 28% of households have no car, or about one in four. At 57%, the share of flats is higher than in 82% 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 Douai
A young town
Half of Douai’s residents are under 37.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 17% are under 15 and 19% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
48% of Douai’s households are one person: higher than in 90% of compared French towns; 41% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Social housing
31% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 32% rent privately and 35% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Empty homes
The census found 3,140 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower growth than 83% of compared French towns: Douai 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Nord town ±0%.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 97% of compared French towns: 17%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Douai 37.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over, against 22% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 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%.
More one-person households than 90% of compared French towns: 48%
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
With couples with children at 18%, Douai is behind just over four fifths of compared French towns on that count. Set beside that, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 2 people on average.
14% of homes stand empty, a share 94% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
At 1.5%, second homes sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 93% of compared French towns: 31% of households rent social housing (HLM). For comparison, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. In the last two years, 15% of households moved in; at the other end, 13% have stayed 30 years or more.
Standard of living at the median: €20,230 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €20,230 a year: lower than in 96% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 31.4% of the population.
28% of households are headed by a retired person, below 74% 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
In Douai, 17% of households are headed by a manual worker, beside 14% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, households headed by a manager or professional are common here: 9.6%, more than in 51% of compared French towns. As a reference point, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More foreign nationals than 68% of compared French towns: 6.7%
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.
Against a figure of 6.5% in the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants in Douai comes in at 8.1%. In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%. That is higher than in 61% 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.
A smaller share of married residents than 97% of compared French towns: 31%
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
37% of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
Douai ranks above 72% of compared French towns on adults with no qualification: 24%
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
For Douai, the census puts graduates of higher education at 29%. To put it in context, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
18th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 37,601 to 43,086
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Saint-Martin-d'Hères is the youngest (29.9); La Ciotat the oldest (49.9).
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Douai
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douai | 37.8 | 19% | 1.5% | 8.1% |
| Waziers 7,266 · 1.3 mi | 37.6 | 17% | 0.4% | 9.4% |
| Cuincy 6,467 · 1.5 mi | 44 | 23% | 0.4% | 4.7% |
| Sin-le-Noble 16,076 · 1.6 mi | 39.7 | 18% | 0.7% | 6% |
| Lambres-lez-Douai 4,883 · 1.7 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 0.4% | 2.6% |
| Flers-en-Escrebieux 5,424 · 1.8 mi | 39.4 | 19% | 0.5% | 5.1% |
| Courchelettes 2,855 · 2.4 mi | 47.3 | 27% | 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 Douai
What is the population of Douai?
40,250 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (41,732).
How old are Douai’s residents?
The median age is 37.8, younger than 89% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Douai?
340, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Douai?
INSEE counts 3,260 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.1% of residents, and 2,710 foreign nationals (6.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Douai?
€20,230 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 31.4% 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.