One-person households: 29%, a lower share than 81% of compared French towns
With flats at 14%, Petite-Forêt is behind four fifths of compared French towns on that count. 5,054 residents in 2,120 households: that is Petite-Forêt at the 2023 Census. Households in social housing: 21% of the total. The median age locally is 41.3, lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
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.
+3% since 2012, a pace below 56% 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
Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Nord town ±0%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 20%, a lower share than 63% 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
■ Petite-Forêt 41.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Petite-Forêt comes in at 12%. Measured more widely, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Petite-Forêt sits above 77% of compared French towns for couples with children (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 average household has 2.4 people. On single-parent households, Petite-Forêt sits higher than 62% of compared French towns: 11%. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%.
Only 0.7% of homes are second homes in Petite-Forêt
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
There is little gap on empty homes: 5.9%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 6.7% moved in during the last two years and 26% have stayed three decades or more.
€23,640 a year: the median standard of living
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.
Living standards centre on €23,640 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 75% of compared French towns. 18.0% of residents live below the poverty line INSEE uses.
18% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 73% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Households headed by a retired person: 34% here and 32% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. Locally, 7.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 68% of compared French towns, at 4.5%
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.
With foreign nationals at 3%, Petite-Forêt is behind 65% of compared French towns on that count. As a reference point, 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: 26%, a higher share than 56% 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
The share of married residents stands at 43%. Typically, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Petite-Forêt sits below 68% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (25%)
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
Adults with no qualification account for 20%. To put it in context, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 5,008 to 5,102 people: this is the 10th 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.
Bezannes is the youngest (31.7); Saint-Georges-de-Didonne the oldest (67.3).
A younger town than 1 of the 6 around it: Petite-Forêt
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petite-Forêt | 41.3 | 20% | 0.7% | 4.5% |
| Anzin 13,183 · 1.2 mi | 37.2 | 15% | 1.3% | 8.8% |
| La Sentinelle 3,103 · 1.5 mi | 42.1 | 20% | 1.9% | 5.6% |
| Raismes 12,199 · 1.5 mi | 39.3 | 18% | 0.3% | 5% |
| Beuvrages 6,796 · 1.6 mi | 37.8 | 17% | 0.5% | 9% |
| Hérin 4,169 · 1.7 mi | 38.7 | 16% | 0.2% | 2.8% |
| Valenciennes 43,468 · 1.9 mi | 36.4 | 17% | 3% | 11% |
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 Petite-Forêt
What is the population of Petite-Forêt?
5,054 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (4,892).
How old are Petite-Forêt’s residents?
The median age is 41.3, younger than 70% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Petite-Forêt?
15, with occasional dwellings: 0.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Petite-Forêt?
INSEE counts 230 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.5% of residents, and 150 foreign nationals (3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Petite-Forêt?
€23,640 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% 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.