Flats make up 0.9% in Hamel, less than in 99% of compared French towns
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (6.9%), Hamel is below 98% of compared French towns. 797 residents in 370 households: that is Hamel at the 2023 Census. Across Hamel, 3.6% of homes stand empty. More households headed by a retired person than in 85% of compared French towns: 41%.
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 Hamel
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 62 second homes and occasional dwellings in Hamel, 14% of its 450 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 84% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Hamel’s residents are under 51.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 28% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
14% of homes are second homes, 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
The share of households without a car trails 69% of compared French towns: 7.6%. Across Hamel, 5.3% of households rent social housing (HLM). The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Since 2012, Hamel has changed by +2%, slower than 62% 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
In two steps, ±0% to 2017 and +1% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% in Nord.
Half of Hamel is over 51.4, older than 87% 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
■ Hamel 51.4. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 28%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
In Hamel, 7.9% of households are single parents, fewer than in 81% 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
The figure for one-person households is 33% in Hamel and 35% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%. Average household size: 2.1 people. On couples with children, Hamel sits lower than 57% of compared French towns: 24%.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €26,210 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 €26,210 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 52% of compared French towns.
7.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 60% 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
In Hamel, 15% of households are headed by a manual worker. Across the comparison, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional 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 0.6% in Hamel, 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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.6% of residents are foreign nationals here. The benchmark for immigrants in the typical compared French town: 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
46% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 70% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in Hamel. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Below 80% of compared French towns: 22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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
For Hamel, the census puts adults with no qualification at 19%. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 11th oldest 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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Hamel is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamel | 51.4 | 28% | 14% | 0.6% |
| Arleux 3,125 · 1.7 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 12% | 1.4% |
| Courchelettes 2,855 · 4.5 mi | 47.3 | 27% | 0.7% | 2.9% |
| Brebières 5,283 · 4.5 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Vitry-en-Artois 4,849 · 5.1 mi | 41.4 | 22% | 0.6% | 1.3% |
| Lambres-lez-Douai 4,883 · 5.1 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 0.4% | 2.6% |
| Dechy 5,338 · 5.6 mi | 40 | 21% | 0.3% | 5.4% |
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 Hamel
What is the population of Hamel?
797 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 2% more than in 2012 (783).
How old are Hamel’s residents?
The median age is 51.4, older than 87% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Hamel?
62, with occasional dwellings: 14% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Hamel?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.6% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Hamel?
€26,210 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.