Esquelbecq sits below 99% of compared French towns for single-parent households (4.4%)
With flats at 6.7%, Esquelbecq is behind 93% of compared French towns on that count. Still, more households headed by a retired person than in 88% of compared French towns: 42%. 2,137 residents in 900 households: that is Esquelbecq at the 2023 Census. Here, nearly one in ten households have no car.
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.
Slower than most: +1% since 2012, behind 64% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% for the median Nord town, the change came in two steps: ±0% from 2012 to 2017, then +1% to 2023.
A median age of 47.4: Esquelbecq is older than 71% 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
■ Esquelbecq 47.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 10% here and 11% in the typical compared French town. Roughly two in ten: just over a fifth 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%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 88% of compared French towns: 27%
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
Each household has 2.3 people on average. For comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Higher than in 74% of compared French towns: 30% of households are couples with children.
Households in social housing make up 7% in Esquelbecq, less than in 76% 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
Against a figure of 6.7% in the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes in Esquelbecq comes in at 5.3%. As a yardstick, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Turnover: nearly one in ten households moved in less than two years ago, and 29% have lived in their home 30 years or more.
The median resident lives on €26,920 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 Esquelbecq’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €26,920 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 60% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 11.0%.
Esquelbecq ranks below 66% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 12%
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
Census figures put households headed by a manager or professional at 8.3% in Esquelbecq. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants make up 1% in Esquelbecq, less than in 99% 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.
Foreign nationals: 0.4% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 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.
Above 92% of compared French towns: 50% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Esquelbecq comes in at 20%. The usual figure: 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 54% 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
19% of adults out of school have no qualification, or about one in five. The comparison figure for graduates of higher education is 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 2,137 to 2,582 people: this is the 15th oldest
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.
Esquelbecq is younger than 3 of its 6 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esquelbecq | 47.4 | 22% | 2.1% | 1% |
| Wormhout 5,584 · 1.9 mi | 45.4 | 25% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Bergues 3,525 · 5.5 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| Hoymille 3,259 · 5.9 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 1.8% | 1.1% |
| Cappelle-la-Grande 7,839 · 8 mi | 40.6 | 19% | 0.3% | 2% |
| Steenvoorde 4,332 · 8.5 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Téteghem-Coudekerque-Village 8,247 · 9 mi | 49.5 | 22% | 3.2% | 2.6% |
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 Esquelbecq
What is the population of Esquelbecq?
2,137 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (2,108).
How old are Esquelbecq’s residents?
The median age is 47.4, older than 71% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Esquelbecq?
20, with occasional dwellings: 2.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Esquelbecq?
INSEE counts 22 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (0.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Esquelbecq?
€26,920 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 11.0% 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 8, 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.