Merckeghem ranks below 99% of compared French towns on flats: 1.5%
Where just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town, Merckeghem has 4.6%. At the 2023 Census Merckeghem was home to 615 people in 260 households. The share of single-parent households stands at 5.8%. On residents aged 15 to 24, Merckeghem sits lower than 98% of compared French towns: 6.9%.
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.
A +8% change since 2012: Merckeghem grew faster than 61% 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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Nord town ±0%. The change was +4% from 2012 to 2017 and +4% from 2017 to 2023.
Merckeghem is younger than 55% of compared French towns: a median age of 43.3
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Merckeghem 43.3. The median compared French town: 44.
21% of Merckeghem’s residents are 65 or older, against 19% in the median Nord town and 22% in the median compared French town; 23% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Below 94% of compared French towns: 25% of households are one person living alone
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
There are 2.4 people in the average household. Compared with other places, couples with children are common here: 33%, more than in 88% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households is 35%.
6% of homes are second homes, more than in 80% 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
5% of households moved in less than two years ago; 28% have been in their home 30 years or more. Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Meanwhile, in Merckeghem, nearly one in ten homes stand empty, beside 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €27,300 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.
The median standard of living in Merckeghem is €27,300 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 64% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 71% of compared French towns: 37%
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
About one in seven: that is how common households headed by a manual worker are in Merckeghem (15%). As a reference point, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town. On households headed by a manager or professional, 9.8% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 0.5% of residents are immigrants in Merckeghem
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.2% of residents are foreign nationals in Merckeghem. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town. That is lower than in 99% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Above 93% of compared French towns: 51% of residents 15 and over are married
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
21% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
Adults with no qualification: 14%, a lower share than 76% 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
In Merckeghem, just over a quarter of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town: 19%.
12th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 615 to 2,582
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.
Median age: 2 of the 6 towns around Merckeghem are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merckeghem | 43.3 | 21% | 6% | 0.5% |
| Watten 2,564 · 3.8 mi | 43 | 23% | 2.9% | 1% |
| Éperlecques 3,737 · 6.1 mi | 39.8 | 18% | 3.4% | 0.5% |
| Bourbourg 6,931 · 6.5 mi | 40.4 | 21% | 1.3% | 1.4% |
| Saint-Omer 14,382 · 7.9 mi | 36.7 | 17% | 2.4% | 5.5% |
| Saint-Martin-lez-Tatinghem 5,843 · 8.2 mi | 47.1 | 25% | 1% | 2.7% |
| Wormhout 5,584 · 8.3 mi | 45.4 | 25% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
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 Merckeghem
What is the population of Merckeghem?
615 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (572).
How old are Merckeghem’s residents?
The median age is 43.3, younger than 55% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Merckeghem?
18, with occasional dwellings: 6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Merckeghem?
INSEE counts 3 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.5% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Merckeghem?
€27,300 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.