Couples with children make up 38% in Staple, more than in 98% of compared French towns
In Staple, 2.6% of homes are flats, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. The town had 756 residents in 290 households at the 2023 Census. Households in social housing: 0.7% of the total. Compared with other places, households without a car are scarce here: 5.1%, fewer than in 88% 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 Staple
A town of families
38% of households are couples with children and 9.1% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Growth of +9% since 2012 puts Staple ahead of 67% 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 change was −5% from 2012 to 2017 and +15% from 2017 to 2023.
Half of Staple is under 40.6, younger 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
■ Staple 40.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In Staple, 18% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 10%.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Fewer 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
There is little gap on single-parent households: 9.1%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Households here average 2.6 people each.
A higher share of empty homes than 63% of compared French towns, at 7.9%
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
Some 9.1% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 26% who have been there 30 years or more. Locally, 1.3% of homes are second homes. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €25,510 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 €25,510 a year: lower than in 54% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 3.7% in Staple, less than in 95% 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
32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, against 25% in Staple. Compared with other places, households headed by a manual worker are common here: 15%, more than in 55% of compared French towns. Households headed by a manager or professional: 9.4% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 0.7%
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 99% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 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.
Staple sits above 88% of compared French towns for married residents (49%)
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
Here just over a fifth of residents 15 and over are single, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Graduates of higher education: 26%, a lower share than 63% 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
The share of adults with no qualification stands at 20%. In the typical compared French town, graduates of higher education come to 30%.
4th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 756 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is older than Staple
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staple | 40.6 | 18% | 1.3% | 0.7% |
| Hazebrouck 21,912 · 4.2 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1% | 3.1% |
| Morbecque 2,573 · 5.5 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 1.2% |
| Arques 9,431 · 6.7 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 1% | 2.8% |
| Steenvoorde 4,332 · 7.1 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Blendecques 4,859 · 8 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| Aire-sur-la-Lys 9,598 · 8.1 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 0.4% | 1% |
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 Staple
What is the population of Staple?
756 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (693).
How old are Staple’s residents?
The median age is 40.6, younger than 75% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Staple?
4, with occasional dwellings: 1.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Staple?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.7% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Staple?
€25,510 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.