Couples with children make up 42% in Zermezeele, more than in 99% of compared French towns
With a median age of 39.7, Zermezeele is younger than just over four fifths of compared French towns. There were 94 households locally at the 2023 Census, home to 252 residents. 6.7% of homes are second homes. The share of empty homes trails 89% of compared French towns: 3.8%.
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 Zermezeele
A town of families
42% of households are couples with children and 5.3% single parents with children; 23% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Growing fast
Zermezeele had 198 residents at the 2012 census and 252 in 2023, up 27%: faster growth than in 96% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A +27% change since 2012: Zermezeele grew faster than 96% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the change was +13%; from 2017 to 2023, +13%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Nord town ±0%.
In Zermezeele, 7.9% of residents are 15 to 24, fewer than in 93% 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
■ Zermezeele 39.7. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Zermezeele has 16%. Elsewhere, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of one-person households than 99% of compared French towns: 16%
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: 2.7 people. For comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Fewer single-parent households than in 98% of compared French towns: 5.3%.
100% of homes are houses
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
Households that moved in under two years ago: 15%. Those in their home 30 years or more: 16%. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
A median standard of living of €29,250 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.
At €29,250 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 80% of compared French towns.
Zermezeele sits below 83% of compared French towns for households headed by a manager or professional (5.3%)
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 14% in the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker in Zermezeele comes in at 16%. The usual figure: 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. Across Zermezeele, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0.4% of residents are immigrants, below 99% 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.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
More married residents than 99% of compared French towns: 56%
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
17% of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. In the typical compared French town, the share of married residents is 43%.
A smaller share of adults with no qualification than 96% of compared French towns: 9.9%
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
38% of Zermezeele’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 9.9% have no diploma (19%).
The 2nd youngest of 41 French towns of 252 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.
Zermezeele and its 6 nearest towns: 5 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zermezeele | 39.7 | 16% | 6.7% | 0.4% |
| Wormhout 5,584 · 3.7 mi | 45.4 | 25% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Steenvoorde 4,332 · 5.6 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| Hazebrouck 21,912 · 8 mi | 43.3 | 23% | 1% | 3.1% |
| Arques 9,431 · 9.3 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 1% | 2.8% |
| Bergues 3,525 · 9.8 mi | 49.6 | 30% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| Saint-Omer 14,382 · 10 mi | 36.7 | 17% | 2.4% | 5.5% |
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 Zermezeele
What is the population of Zermezeele?
252 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 27% more than in 2012 (198).
How old are Zermezeele’s residents?
The median age is 39.7, younger than 81% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Zermezeele?
7, with occasional dwellings: 6.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Zermezeele?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.4% 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 Zermezeele?
€29,250 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.