In Dunkerque, 30% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 92% of compared French towns
By its share of flats (58%), Dunkerque is above just over four fifths of compared French towns. On the census count, a quarter of households have no car. Compared with other places, couples with children are scarce here: 19%, fewer than in 76% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 86,263, in 42,250 households.
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 Dunkerque
Social housing
30% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 23% rent privately and 45% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Dunkerque had 90,995 residents at the 2012 census and 86,263 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: Dunkerque 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −4%, and from 2017 to 2023 −1%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nord town ±0%.
Dunkerque ranks above 72% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 12%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Dunkerque 43.7. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 43.7, Dunkerque is younger than 53% of compared French towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 23%. In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
In Dunkerque, 45% of households are one person living alone, more than in 83% 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
Compared with 10% in the typical compared French town, 11% of households are single parents here. For comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Each household has 2 people on average.
Second homes make up 3.9% in Dunkerque, more than in 70% 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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 12%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 18%. 6.9% of homes stand empty, more than in 52% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Car-free households: one in four, where the median compared French town has 11%.
A median of €22,790 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.
Half of residents live in households above €22,790 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 83% of compared French towns. The share living below the poverty line is 22.7%.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 17% in Dunkerque, more than in 66% 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 manager or professional: 7.8%, below just over three fifths of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in three: 35% of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Foreign nationals make up 5.4% in Dunkerque, more than in 59% 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.
Immigrants make up a share higher than in 54% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%. Across the comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. The share of immigrants stands at 7.1%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
37% of residents 15 and over are married, below 83% 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
With single residents at 29%, Dunkerque is ahead of 76% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Dunkerque sits above 76% of compared French towns for 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
With graduates of higher education at 26%, Dunkerque is behind 63% of compared French towns on that count. The usual figure: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 70,906 to 104,978
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Poitiers is the youngest (30); Cannes the oldest (50.3).
Dunkerque sits below 3 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkerque | 43.7 | 23% | 3.9% | 7.1% |
| Coudekerque-Branche 20,787 · 1.2 mi | 43 | 20% | 0.9% | 3.4% |
| Cappelle-la-Grande 7,839 · 2.5 mi | 40.6 | 19% | 0.3% | 2% |
| Téteghem-Coudekerque-Village 8,247 · 2.8 mi | 49.5 | 22% | 3.2% | 2.6% |
| Leffrinckoucke 4,078 · 3.3 mi | 52.1 | 28% | 3% | 3.4% |
| Grande-Synthe 20,239 · 3.4 mi | 36.9 | 17% | 0.6% | 16% |
| Bergues 3,525 · 5.3 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
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 Dunkerque
What is the population of Dunkerque?
86,263 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (90,995).
How old are Dunkerque’s residents?
The median age is 43.7, younger than 53% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dunkerque?
1,850, with occasional dwellings: 3.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dunkerque?
INSEE counts 6,160 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.1% of residents, and 4,640 foreign nationals (5.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dunkerque?
€22,790 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.7% 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.