Photo: Unknown 1938 · Public domainHouseholds headed by a manager or professional make up 3.4% in Barlin, less than in 96% of compared French towns
With a median age of 41.1, Barlin is younger than 72% of compared French towns. Census figures put single-parent households at 13% here. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 7,331, in 3,260 households. Where 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, Barlin has 19%.
Throughout this page, the Pas-de-Calais 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 Barlin
Social housing
34% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 24% rent privately and 41% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Barlin changed by −3% from 2012 to 2023, behind 82% 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 Pas-de-Calais town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +1% and the next six −4%.
In Barlin, 12% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 79% 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
■ Barlin 41.1. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 20%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Barlin: 26% of households are couples with children, above 56% 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 Pas-de-Calais median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 2.2 people. In the typical compared French town, a quarter of households are couples with children. 36% of households are one person living alone, more than in 53% of compared French towns.
Households in social housing make up 34% in Barlin, more than in 95% 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
Compared with 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 0.4% of homes are second homes here. By way of comparison, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Flats make up about one in nine here (11%). Few places have as many empty homes: 8% here, more than in 64% of compared French towns.
The median resident lives on €20,210 a year per consumption unit
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.
Half of Barlin’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,210 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 96% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 25.0% of residents.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 93% of compared French towns: 23%
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 31%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 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).
1.6% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 96% 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 share of foreign nationals trails 94% of compared French towns: 1%. The median compared commune in Pas-de-Calais has 1.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 96% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for immigrants is 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.
Married residents make up 34% in Barlin, less than in 91% 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
30% of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 95% of compared French towns: 16%
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
Compared with 19% in the typical compared French town, nearly a quarter of adults out of school have no qualification here. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
41 French towns of 7,252 to 7,411 people: this is the 11th 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.
The youngest is Gières (36), the oldest Perros-Guirec (62.4).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Barlin
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barlin | 41.1 | 20% | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| Hersin-Coupigny 6,082 · 1.7 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Haillicourt 5,064 · 2.1 mi | 38.9 | 18% | 0.1% | 0.9% |
| Nœux-les-Mines 11,590 · 2.7 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 0.6% | 1.6% |
| Sains-en-Gohelle 5,948 · 3.1 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| Houdain 6,945 · 3.1 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 0.5% | 0.9% |
| Bruay-la-Buissière 21,424 · 3.4 mi | 39.7 | 19% | 0.7% | 2.1% |
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 Barlin
What is the population of Barlin?
7,331 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (7,567).
How old are Barlin’s residents?
The median age is 41.1, younger than 72% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Barlin?
16, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Barlin?
INSEE counts 110 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.6% of residents, and 74 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Barlin?
€20,210 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 25.0% 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 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.