A larger share of couples with children than 99% of compared French towns: 40%
Against a figure of 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Potelle comes in at 8.6%. Households without a car are rarer here than in 97% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 439 residents and 170 households locally. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 9.3%.
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 Potelle
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Potelle had 358 residents at the 2012 census and 439 in 2023, up 23%: faster growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Growth of +23% since 2012 puts Potelle ahead of 93% 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 first five years brought +10%; the six to 2023, +11%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nord town ±0%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 69% of compared French towns: 25%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Potelle 44.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Potelle is 44.9, higher than in 56% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 99% of compared French towns: 20%
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
Each household has 2.6 people on average. To put it in context, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
Fewer empty homes than 68% of compared French towns: 5.5%
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
Turnover: 5.9% of households moved in less than two years ago, and 25% have lived in their home 30 years or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. There is little gap on second homes: 1.6%, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €29,150 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.
Living standards centre on €29,150 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 79% of compared French towns.
Potelle ranks above 98% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 34%
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
Against a figure of 32% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person in Potelle comes in at 37%. Elsewhere, 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).
1.8% of residents are foreign nationals, below 82% 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.
4.1% of residents are immigrants; in the typical compared French town the figure is 6.5%. Foreign nationals: 4.3% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents: 58%, a higher share than 99% 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 single residents is 17%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married.
Potelle sits below 90% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (12%)
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
The share of graduates of higher education tops 86% of compared French towns: 43%. The usual figure: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
18th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 439 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
A younger town than 2 of the 6 around it: Potelle
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potelle | 44.9 | 25% | 1.6% | 4.1% |
| Le Quesnoy 4,878 · 1.7 mi | 46.3 | 27% | 1.6% | 3% |
| Berlaimont 3,159 · 6.4 mi | 42.9 | 25% | 1.3% | 3.1% |
| Bavay 3,249 · 7.2 mi | 45.2 | 25% | 1.1% | 5.7% |
| Landrecies 3,407 · 7.6 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Aulnoye-Aymeries 8,612 · 7.9 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 0.9% | 4.7% |
| Solesmes 4,142 · 8.2 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 2.1% | 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 Potelle
What is the population of Potelle?
439 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 23% more than in 2012 (358).
How old are Potelle’s residents?
The median age is 44.9, older than 56% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Potelle?
3, with occasional dwellings: 1.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Potelle?
INSEE counts 18 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.1% of residents, and 8 foreign nationals (1.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Potelle?
€29,150 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.