A smaller share of flats than 99% of compared French towns: 3%
The figure for one-person households is 27% in Fenain and 35% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census Fenain was home to 5,441 people in 2,190 households. The census found that nearly a fifth of households rent social housing (HLM) in the town. Half of the town’s residents are under 40.4, younger than in 77% 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.
Since 2012, Fenain has changed by +2%, slower than 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
The median Nord town changed ±0% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +1% and the next six +1%.
Below 76% of compared French towns: 18% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Fenain 40.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Fenain comes in at 12%. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over 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%.
Above 95% of compared French towns: 15% of households are single parents
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
Here nearly a third of households are couples with children, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. Across the comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 2.5 people.
Below 89% of compared French towns: 0.8% of homes are second homes
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
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 12% of households have no car here. As a reference point, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. In the last two years, 7% of households moved in; at the other end, 28% have stayed 30 years or more. At 6.2%, the share of empty homes is lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
Half above, half below €22,250 a year in standard of living
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.
The median standard of living in Fenain is €22,250 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 87% of compared French towns. 19.0% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
A higher share of households headed by a manual worker than 77% of compared French towns, at 18%
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
Against a figure of 9.4% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manager or professional in Fenain comes in at 6.8%. About one in three: that is how common households headed by a retired person are in Fenain (32%). In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manual worker come to 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Fenain, 2.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 90% 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.
The figure for foreign nationals is 1.2% in Fenain and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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.
In Fenain, 28% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 67% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%; Fenain has 41%. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 84% of compared French towns: 21%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification here. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 5,388 to 5,489 people, the 8th youngest
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 35.3 in Crégy-lès-Meaux to 54.8 in Plouhinec.
Nearby, 3 of 6 towns have older populations than Fenain
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
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 Fenain
What is the population of Fenain?
5,441 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (5,337).
How old are Fenain’s residents?
The median age is 40.4, younger than 77% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fenain?
18, with occasional dwellings: 0.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fenain?
INSEE counts 120 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.2% of residents, and 63 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fenain?
€22,250 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 19.0% 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.