2.6% of homes stand empty, below 97% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional; in Prémesques, 24%. This Nord town had 2,031 residents in 840 households at the 2023 Census. Households without a car: 5.4% of the total. On flats, Prémesques sits lower than 96% of compared French towns: 4.5%.
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 Prémesques
Fewer residents than in 2012
Prémesques had 2,211 residents at the 2012 census and 2,031 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
34% of households are couples with children and 12% single parents with children; 17% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Many graduates
49% of residents 15 and over who have left education hold a diploma above the bac, 17% a master’s or more (bac+5). Qualifications ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Since 2012, Prémesques has changed by −8%, slower than 95% 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: −4% from 2012 to 2017, then −5% to 2023.
Prémesques ranks below 70% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 19%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Prémesques 45.1. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 45.1, Prémesques is older than 57% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over. Residents aged 15 to 24: just over a tenth of the total.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 96% of compared French towns: 24%
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
Households average 2.4 people. 34% of households are couples with children, more than in 91% of compared French towns. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%. In the typical compared French town, one in ten households are single parents; in Prémesques, 12%.
A smaller share of households in social housing than 81% of compared French towns: 6.1%
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
One household in 18 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. Lower than in nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 1% of homes are second homes. As a yardstick, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 8.6% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 25%.
Median living standard: €31,120 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €31,120 a year: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 5.0% of residents.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 9.6% in Prémesques, less than in 79% 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
31% of households are headed by a retired person. On average, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
2.5% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 87% 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.
The median compared commune in Nord has 4.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 87% of compared French towns. About one in 83: that is how common foreign nationals are in Prémesques (1.2%). In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A larger share of married residents than 93% of compared French towns: 50%
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 trails 88% of compared French towns: 21%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
Prémesques sits above 92% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (49%)
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, 15% of adults out of school have no qualification here. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
The 20th youngest of 41 French towns of 2,031 to 2,582 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Prémesques is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prémesques | 45.1 | 19% | 1% | 2.5% |
| Capinghem 2,728 · 1 mi | 38.3 | 19% | 0.7% | 6.1% |
| Pérenchies 8,455 · 1 mi | 40.5 | 19% | 0.6% | 4.1% |
| Verlinghem 2,682 · 2.6 mi | 43 | 19% | 1.9% | 2.5% |
| Houplines 7,921 · 2.7 mi | 38.6 | 17% | 0.5% | 4.8% |
| Sequedin 4,675 · 2.7 mi | 40.2 | 17% | 1% | 7.1% |
| La Chapelle-d'Armentières 8,754 · 2.8 mi | 41 | 19% | 0.6% | 4.4% |
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 Prémesques
What is the population of Prémesques?
2,031 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (2,211).
How old are Prémesques’ residents?
The median age is 45.1, older than 57% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Prémesques?
9, with occasional dwellings: 1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Prémesques?
INSEE counts 51 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 24 foreign nationals (1.2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Prémesques?
€31,120 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 5.0% 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 4, 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.