Houtkerque: 39% of households are couples with children, above 98% of compared French towns
Households in social housing: 1.5% here and 12% in the typical compared French town. More households headed by a manual worker than in 97% of compared French towns: 26%. Houtkerque had 978 residents in 390 households at the 2023 census. On the census count, 3.2% of homes are flats.
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 Houtkerque
A town of families
39% of households are couples with children and 7.6% single parents with children; 23% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of Houtkerque’s residents are under 38.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 23% are under 15 and 16% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Houtkerque’s population moved −3% on 2012, less than in 80% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nord town ±0%. The first five years brought −1%; the six to 2023, −2%.
Younger than 87% of compared French towns: half of Houtkerque is under 38.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Houtkerque 38.2. The median compared French town: 44.
8.5% of residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). Lower than in 86% of compared French towns: 16% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 106 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 95% of compared French towns: 24%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single-parent households is 10%; Houtkerque has 7.6%. The comparison figure for one-person households is 35% in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.5 people share a household.
Only 5.6% of households have no car in Houtkerque
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
Car-free households: one in 18, where the median compared French town has 11%. In Houtkerque, 2.5% of homes are second homes.
Median living standard: €26,630 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 €26,630 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 57% of compared French towns.
A smaller share of households headed by a retired person than 81% of compared French towns: 26%
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 manager or professional stands at 10%. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 95% of compared French towns: 1.6% of residents are immigrants
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.
1.2% of residents are foreign nationals (typical compared French town: 4.3%). The usual figure: 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.
Single residents make up 21% in Houtkerque, less than in 83% 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
Across Houtkerque, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
Houtkerque: 31% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, above 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
About one in six: that is how common adults with no qualification are in Houtkerque (18%). As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 978 to 2,582 people, the 2nd 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
No nearby town is as young as Houtkerque
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houtkerque | 38.2 | 16% | 2.5% | 1.6% |
| Steenvoorde 4,332 · 4.6 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Wormhout 5,584 · 5.3 mi | 45.4 | 25% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Hondschoote 3,957 · 7 mi | 43 | 22% | 1.7% | 2.9% |
| Hoymille 3,259 · 9 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 1.8% | 1.1% |
| Bergues 3,525 · 9.2 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| Hazebrouck 21,912 · 10.8 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1% | 3.1% |
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 Houtkerque
What is the population of Houtkerque?
978 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (1,004).
How old are Houtkerque’s residents?
The median age is 38.2, younger than 87% of compared French towns. 27% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Houtkerque?
11, with occasional dwellings: 2.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Houtkerque?
INSEE counts 16 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Houtkerque?
€26,630 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 9, 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.