More couples with children than 85% of compared French towns: 32%
In Marchiennes, 11% of homes are flats, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. The census found that 29% of households are headed by a retired person here. The town has fewer second homes than 91% of compared French towns, at 0.7%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 4,507, in 1,880 households.
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.
−4% since 2012, a pace below 85% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% for the median Nord town, the change came in two steps: −2% from 2012 to 2017, then −2% to 2023.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 60% of compared French towns, at 21%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Marchiennes 43.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Put another way, about one in nine: just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24. With a median age of 43.9, Marchiennes is younger than just over half of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Marchiennes sits below 75% of compared French towns for one-person households (30%)
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 2.3 people. As a yardstick, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Census figures put single-parent households at 10% in Marchiennes.
9.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), below 63% 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
9.1% of households have no car, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Long tenure is the mark of 24% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 6.1% (under two years).
Half of residents have a standard of living above €26,510 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 Marchiennes’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €26,510 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 56% of compared French towns. The poverty rate is 11.0%.
Households headed by a manager or professional: 17%, a higher share than 82% 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
Census figures put households headed by a manual worker at 15% in Marchiennes. As a yardstick, 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 92% of compared French towns, at 2%
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 92% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%. Put another way, about one in 91: 1.1% of residents are foreign nationals.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
42% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 58% 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
25% of residents 15 and over are single. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Below 72% of compared French towns: 15% of adults out of school have no 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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Marchiennes has 36%. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 16th youngest of 41 French towns of 4,473 to 4,540 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Jacob-Bellecombette (36.6), the oldest Banyuls-sur-Mer (60.7).
Around Marchiennes, 1 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marchiennes | 43.9 | 21% | 0.7% | 2% |
| Beuvry-la-Forêt 2,861 · 2.9 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 0.5% | 2.4% |
| Fenain 5,441 · 3.6 mi | 40.4 | 18% | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| Somain 11,766 · 3.6 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 1.2% | 3.3% |
| Pecquencourt 6,092 · 3.8 mi | 38.6 | 18% | 0.4% | 4.8% |
| Hornaing 3,496 · 4 mi | 39 | 17% | 1.2% | 1.6% |
| Flines-lez-Raches 5,745 · 4.1 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 0.8% | 1.9% |
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 Marchiennes
What is the population of Marchiennes?
4,507 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (4,697).
How old are Marchiennes’ residents?
The median age is 43.9, younger than 51% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Marchiennes?
14, with occasional dwellings: 0.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Marchiennes?
INSEE counts 88 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2% of residents, and 51 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Marchiennes?
€26,510 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 11.0% 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 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.