Photo: Chatsam · CC BY-SA 3.0Households headed by a manager or professional: 4.1%, a lower share than 92% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, 30% of homes are flats; in Wignehies, 9%. About one in six: that is how common single-parent households are in Wignehies (16%). Few places have as many households without a car: 18% here, more than in 78% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 2,804 residents and 1,210 households locally.
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 Wignehies
Fewer residents than in 2012
Wignehies had 3,012 residents at the 2012 census and 2,804 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 93% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 160 homes empty (11%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−7% since 2012, a pace below 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 median Nord town changed ±0% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought −4% and the next six −3%.
A median age of 42.7: Wignehies is younger than 61% 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
■ Wignehies 42.7. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (24%), Wignehies is above 62% of compared French towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, 11% here is much the same as in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 21%, a lower share than 72% of compared French towns
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 2.2 people on average. In the typical compared French town, the share of couples with children is 25%. Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 33% of households are one person living alone here.
In Wignehies, 11% of homes stand empty, more than in 86% of compared French towns
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
Where 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, Wignehies has 14%. In the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes is 6.7%. On the census count, 1.5% of homes are second homes.
A median standard of living of €19,990 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 Wignehies is €19,990 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 97% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 29.0% of residents.
More households headed by a manual worker than 96% of compared French towns: 25%
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
The share of households headed by a retired person is 37%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Wignehies, 2.1% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 90% 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.
Here 1.6% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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.
Below 82% of compared French towns: 37% of residents 15 and over are married
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
27% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Only 13% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Wignehies
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
In the typical compared French town, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification; in Wignehies, 35%. Across the comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 2,774 to 2,836 people: this is the 7th 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.
Ages run from 39.7 in La Fère to 56.5 in Saint-Aignan.
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Wignehies
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wignehies | 42.7 | 24% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Fourmies 11,449 · 1.9 mi | 42.5 | 23% | 0.9% | 2.6% |
| Anor 3,099 · 4.6 mi | 41.3 | 21% | 3% | 6.6% |
| Trélon 2,604 · 5.2 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 2.1% | 5.9% |
| Sains-du-Nord 2,755 · 5.4 mi | 43.3 | 24% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Hirson 8,469 · 7.3 mi | 43.6 | 24% | 0.9% | 4.4% |
| Avesnes-sur-Helpe 4,012 · 8.4 mi | 42.7 | 21% | 0.9% | 4.6% |
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 Wignehies
What is the population of Wignehies?
2,804 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (3,012).
How old are Wignehies’ residents?
The median age is 42.7, younger than 61% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Wignehies?
21, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Wignehies?
INSEE counts 60 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.1% of residents, and 46 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Wignehies?
€19,990 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 29.0% 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.