Ferrières ranks above 99% of compared French towns on couples with children: 40%
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.4%, below 96% of compared French towns. Census figures put households headed by a retired person at 43% in Ferrières. At 4.4%, the share of flats is lower than in 97% of compared French towns. The town had 435 residents in 180 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Oise 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 Ferrières
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 2.9% single parents with children; 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Ferrières had 512 residents at the 2012 census and 435 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −15% since 2012, behind 99% 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 −6%; 2017 to 2023, −9%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Oise town +2%.
Ferrières is older than 60% of compared French towns: a median age of 45.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Ferrières 45.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Put another way, about one in five: 21% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Oise 51.7%, France 51.8%.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 2.9% of households are single parents
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 Oise median and the France median
Living alone · share
On average, 2.4 people share a household. Single-parent households: 10% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. 26% of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 92% of compared French towns.
Below 81% of compared French towns: 6.2% of households rent social housing (HLM)
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
Against a figure of 2.1% in the typical compared French town, the share of second homes in Ferrières comes in at 4.4%. The share of households in social housing in the typical compared French town is 12%. Households without a car account for 6.7%. The town has more empty homes than nearly three quarters of compared French towns, at 9.2%.
At the median, €24,560 a year to live on
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 €24,560 a year: lower than in 65% of compared French towns.
8.6% of households are headed by a manual worker, below 84% 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
Just over one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional; in the typical compared French town the figure is 9.4%. Against that, 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).
1.1% of residents are foreign nationals, fewer than in 92% 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 Oise has 7.4%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 78% of compared French towns. Against that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 3.4% of residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Married residents: 46%, a higher share than 70% 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
Where 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, Ferrières has 23%. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 90% 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 is 29%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
21st highest median age among 41 French towns of 435 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
1 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Ferrières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrières | 45.6 | 21% | 4.4% | 3.4% |
| Montdidier 5,935 · 4.9 mi | 46.3 | 25% | 1.8% | 2.3% |
| Saint-Just-en-Chaussée 5,810 · 6.9 mi | 41.2 | 20% | 0.7% | 6.6% |
| Breteuil 4,222 · 10.5 mi | 42.7 | 23% | 1.3% | 2.8% |
| Estrées-Saint-Denis 3,664 · 12.5 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 1.2% | 4.1% |
| Moreuil 3,936 · 13 mi | 43.9 | 23% | 3% | 1.1% |
| Ailly-sur-Noye 2,648 · 13.3 mi | 45.3 | 25% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
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 Ferrières
What is the population of Ferrières?
435 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (512).
How old are Ferrières’ residents?
The median age is 45.6, older than 60% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Ferrières?
9, with occasional dwellings: 4.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Ferrières?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 3.4% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (1.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Ferrières?
€24,560 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 October 30, 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.