Photo: mrtnklr · Public domainFourmies sits above 95% of compared French towns for households without a car (29%)
Here 4.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 9.4%. Fourmies is home to 11,449 residents in 5,450 households, by the 2023 Census. Single-parent households account for 15%. Fewer second homes than in 85% of compared French towns: 0.9%.
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 Fourmies
Fewer residents than in 2012
Fourmies had 12,663 residents at the 2012 census and 11,449 in 2023, down 10%: slower growth than in 97% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Social housing
28% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 28% rent privately and 43% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Fourmies changed by −10% from 2012 to 2023, behind 97% 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
Here the change came as −7% to 2017, then −2% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, ±0% in Nord.
Above 82% of compared French towns: 13% of residents are 15 to 24
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Fourmies 42.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Fourmies is 42.5, lower than in 62% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 65 and over make up about one in four here (23%).
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
A lower share of couples with children than 82% of compared French towns, at 18%
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
The share of one-person households is 45%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%.
28% of households rent social housing (HLM), a share 90% 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
Empty homes: 9.2%, above 74% of compared French towns. 29% of homes are flats, fewer than in 52% of compared French towns. Households in social housing make up 12% in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €18,550 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 €18,550 a year: lower than in 99% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 35.0% of residents.
Above 83% of compared French towns: 20% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
Where nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Fourmies has 37%. 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).
2.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 86% 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 median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 86% of compared French towns. Here, 2.2% of residents are foreign nationals. For comparison, 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.
33% of residents 15 and over are married, below 94% 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
The share of single residents tops 87% of compared French towns: 33%. Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Only 15% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Fourmies
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
A third of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 20th youngest of 41 French towns this size
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 33.8 in Épinay-sous-Sénart to 52.7 in Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
Fourmies is younger than 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fourmies | 42.5 | 23% | 0.9% | 2.6% |
| Wignehies 2,804 · 1.9 mi | 42.7 | 24% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Anor 3,099 · 3.1 mi | 41.3 | 21% | 3% | 6.6% |
| Trélon 2,604 · 3.7 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 2.1% | 5.9% |
| Sains-du-Nord 2,755 · 5.5 mi | 43.3 | 24% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Hirson 8,469 · 6.8 mi | 43.6 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.4% |
| Saint-Michel 3,199 · 7.8 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
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 Fourmies
What is the population of Fourmies?
11,449 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% fewer than in 2012 (12,663).
How old are Fourmies’ residents?
The median age is 42.5, younger than 62% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fourmies?
53, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fourmies?
INSEE counts 300 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.6% of residents, and 250 foreign nationals (2.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fourmies?
€18,550 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 35.0% 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.