A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 99% of compared French towns: 2.1%
The share of flats is 6.9%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Census day 2023: 1,635 residents and 700 households in Féchain. 4.9% of homes are second homes. The median age locally is 50.6, higher 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 Féchain
Fewer residents than in 2012
Féchain had 1,849 residents at the 2012 census and 1,635 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 100 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−12% since 2012, a pace below 98% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −6%, and from 2017 to 2023 −6%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nord town ±0%.
Féchain sits above 86% of compared French towns for residents aged 65 and over (30%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Féchain 50.6. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24, against 11% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Féchain ranks below 94% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 6.4%
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: 2.1 people. One-person households are more common here than in 57% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of households are couples with children here.
Féchain sits above 89% of compared French towns for empty homes (12%)
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
16% of households have no car (typical compared French town: 11%). Here, 7.4% of households rent social housing (HLM). Set beside that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €24,690 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.
Half of residents live in households above €24,690 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 64% of compared French towns.
48% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 95% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 share of households headed by a manual worker is 16%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. For households headed by a retired person, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.6%, a lower share than 95% 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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.7% of residents are foreign nationals here. To put it in context, 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.
A lower share of single residents than 63% of compared French towns, at 24%
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
Lower than in 57% of compared French towns: 42% of residents 15 and over are married. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
More adults with no qualification than 96% of compared French towns: 33%
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, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification; in Féchain, 18%. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
The 12th oldest of 41 French towns of 1,635 to 2,582 people
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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
No nearby town is as old as Féchain
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Féchain | 50.6 | 30% | 4.9% | 1.6% |
| Monchecourt 2,516 · 3 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 0.9% | 1.1% |
| Auberchicourt 4,626 · 4.6 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 0.6% | 2.3% |
| Bouchain 4,113 · 4.6 mi | 46 | 26% | 1% | 2.2% |
| Arleux 3,125 · 4.7 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 12% | 1.4% |
| Aniche 9,963 · 4.7 mi | 35.7 | 16% | 0.6% | 3.4% |
| Masny 3,999 · 5.2 mi | 41.7 | 20% | 0.3% | 4.7% |
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 Féchain
What is the population of Féchain?
1,635 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (1,849).
How old are Féchain’s residents?
The median age is 50.6, older than 85% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Féchain?
42, with occasional dwellings: 4.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Féchain?
INSEE counts 27 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Féchain?
€24,690 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.