A median age of 36.5: La Madeleine is younger than 93% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional; in La Madeleine, 31%. On the census count, 27% of households have no car. 21% of households rent social housing (HLM), a higher share than in 79% of compared French towns. The town’s 11,400 households held 21,790 residents at the 2023 Census.
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 La Madeleine
A young town
Half of La Madeleine’s residents are under 36.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 15% are under 15 and 16% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Many graduates
57% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 33% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Many people living alone
50% of La Madeleine’s households are one person: higher than in 93% of compared French towns; 49% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, La Madeleine has changed by −3%, slower than 82% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −6%; 2017 to 2023, +3%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Nord town ±0%.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 89% of compared French towns, at 16%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Madeleine 36.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; La Madeleine has 12%. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
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%.
One-person households: 50%, a higher share than 93% 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 typical household size is 1.9 people. In La Madeleine, 18% of households are couples with children. Few places have so few single-parent households: 9.3% here, fewer than in 62% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Flats make up 71% in La Madeleine, more than in 90% of compared French towns
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 moved in less than two years ago; 9.2% have been in their home 30 years or more. Compared with other places, empty homes are common here: 8.8%, more than in 71% of compared French towns. On top of that, in the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes; in La Madeleine, 3.9%.
A median of €28,500 a year per consumption unit
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 La Madeleine is €28,500 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 75% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 14.3%.
A smaller share of households headed by a retired person than 90% of compared French towns: 23%
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 the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in La Madeleine, 7.4%. To put it in context, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person 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 9.3% in La Madeleine, more than in 67% 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, 7% of residents are foreign nationals here. The wider picture: 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.
30% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 98% 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
With single residents at 35%, La Madeleine is ahead of 92% of compared French towns on that count. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
57% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, more than in 97% 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
Set against 19% in the typical compared French town, 14% of adults out of school have no qualification in La Madeleine. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
9th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 21,112 to 22,480
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 34.5 in Saint-Cyr-l'École to 52.5 in Gujan-Mestras.
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than La Madeleine
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Madeleine | 36.5 | 16% | 3.9% | 9.3% |
| Saint-André-lez-Lille 13,233 · 1.2 mi | 37.8 | 16% | 1.1% | 6.5% |
| Marcq-en-Barœul 40,184 · 1.2 mi | 41.4 | 20% | 1.3% | 8% |
| Marquette-lez-Lille 12,622 · 1.5 mi | 37.1 | 15% | 0.2% | 5.7% |
| Mons-en-Barœul 21,105 · 1.7 mi | 36.2 | 16% | 0.9% | 17% |
| Lille 238,246 · 1.7 mi | 29.4 | 11% | 3.4% | 15% |
| Lambersart 27,090 · 2 mi | 40.1 | 19% | 1.4% | 6.5% |
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 La Madeleine
What is the population of La Madeleine?
21,790 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (22,520).
How old are La Madeleine’s residents?
The median age is 36.5, younger than 93% of compared French towns. 18% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Madeleine?
510, with occasional dwellings: 3.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Madeleine?
INSEE counts 2,020 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.3% of residents, and 1,520 foreign nationals (7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Madeleine?
€28,500 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 14.3% 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 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.