Fewer flats than 98% of compared French towns: 3.5%
The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 23% in Sars-Poteries and 14% in the typical compared French town. At the 2023 Census, 1,402 people lived locally, in 640 households. Locally, 18% of households have no car. The median age here is 39.7, lower than in 81% 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.
What stands out about the people of Sars-Poteries
Fewer residents than in 2012
Sars-Poteries had 1,509 residents at the 2012 census and 1,402 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−7% since 2012: slower than 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −5%; 2017 to 2023, −3%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 18%, a lower share than 75% 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
■ Sars-Poteries 39.7. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Sars-Poteries has 12%. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Above 64% of compared French towns: 39% 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
Average household size: 2.2 people. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Few places have as many single-parent households: 11% here, more than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns. At the same time, the share of couples with children trails 55% of compared French towns: 24%.
A larger share of empty homes than 75% of compared French towns: 9.4%
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households in social housing is 12%; Sars-Poteries has 8.8%. The usual figure: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. One in ten households arrived within the last two years, while 22% have stayed 30 years or more. At 1.8%, the share of second homes is lower than in 56% of compared French towns.
A typical living standard of €19,650 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 Sars-Poteries is €19,650 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 97% of compared French towns.
Sars-Poteries sits below 97% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (3.1%)
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
With households headed by a retired person at 35%, Sars-Poteries is ahead of 66% of compared French towns on that count. 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).
A lower share of immigrants than 75% of compared French towns, at 3.9%
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 three quarters of compared French towns. Against that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. For Sars-Poteries, the census puts foreign nationals at 3.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
35% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 90% 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 tops nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 30%. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 18%, a lower share than 91% 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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Sars-Poteries comes in at 24%. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
2nd lowest median age among 41 French towns of 1,402 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: 4 of the 6 towns around Sars-Poteries 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sars-Poteries | 39.7 | 18% | 1.8% | 3.9% |
| Sains-du-Nord 2,755 · 5.3 mi | 43.3 | 24% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Avesnes-sur-Helpe 4,012 · 5.4 mi | 42.7 | 21% | 0.9% | 4.6% |
| Ferrière-la-Grande 5,131 · 6 mi | 39.8 | 20% | 0.5% | 5% |
| Rousies 3,980 · 7.1 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 0.7% | 4.7% |
| Louvroil 6,294 · 7.2 mi | 35 | 17% | 0.6% | 20% |
| Hautmont 14,152 · 7.5 mi | 37.8 | 18% | 0.6% | 8.3% |
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 Sars-Poteries
What is the population of Sars-Poteries?
1,402 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (1,509).
How old are Sars-Poteries’ residents?
The median age is 39.7, younger than 81% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Sars-Poteries?
13, with occasional dwellings: 1.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Sars-Poteries?
INSEE counts 54 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.9% of residents, and 49 foreign nationals (3.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Sars-Poteries?
€19,650 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 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.