Couples with children make up 12% in Berck, less than in 98% of compared French towns
23% of households have no car (typical compared French town: 11%). Flats: 54% of the total. Few places have as many households headed by a retired person: 44% here, more than in 92% of compared French towns. Berck had 12,951 residents in 6,820 households at the 2023 Census.
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 Berck
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 5,220 second homes and occasional dwellings in Berck, 40% of its 12,930 homes: higher than in 96% of compared French towns. 35% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Berck had 14,725 residents at the 2012 census and 12,951 in 2023, down 12%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
52% of Berck’s households are one person: higher than in 96% of compared French towns; 38% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
An older town
Half of Berck’s residents are under 53.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 40%, a higher share than 96% 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
The share of households in social housing is 19%, against 12% in the typical compared French town. 13% of households arrived within the last two years, while 16% have stayed 30 years or more. More empty homes than in 52% of compared French towns: 6.8%. In the typical compared French town, second homes come to 2.1%.
Since 2012, Berck has changed by −12%, slower than 98% 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 −4% and the next six −9%.
Half of Berck is over 53.5, older than 91% 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
■ Berck 53.5. The median compared French town: 44.
In Berck, 32% of residents are 65 or over, beside 22% in the typical compared French town. Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 10% locally, about one in ten.
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
52% of households are one person living alone, more than in 96% 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
Berck sits close to the norm on single-parent households: 9.4%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 35% of households are one person living alone. Households average 1.8 people.
Median standard of living: €23,340 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 €23,340 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 78% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 21.0% of residents.
Berck ranks below 89% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 4.5%
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
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Berck, 12%. On average, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 2.7%, a lower share than 85% 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 Pas-de-Calais has 1.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 85% of compared French towns. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%. 1.6% of residents are foreign nationals, or about one in 63.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Berck sits below 92% of compared French towns for married residents (34%)
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
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Berck comes in at 31%. For comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A larger share of adults with no qualification than 82% of compared French towns: 26%
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
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, 22% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Berck. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
Ranked by age, 6th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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 Val-de-Reuil (32.3), the oldest Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez (61.8).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Berck
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berck | 53.5 | 32% | 40% | 2.7% |
| Rang-du-Fliers 4,297 · 2.5 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 7.5% | 2.6% |
| Verton 2,571 · 3.1 mi | 47.1 | 23% | 13% | 1.5% |
| Merlimont 3,342 · 3.6 mi | 54.8 | 34% | 67% | 2% |
| Cucq 5,129 · 5.6 mi | 56.1 | 35% | 59% | 1.7% |
| Le Touquet-Paris-Plage 4,224 · 7.6 mi | 65.8 | 52% | 80% | 2.4% |
| Étaples 10,710 · 8.2 mi | 43.6 | 22% | 7% | 1.3% |
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 Berck
What is the population of Berck?
12,951 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 12% fewer than in 2012 (14,725).
How old are Berck’s residents?
The median age is 53.5, older than 91% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Berck?
5,220, with occasional dwellings: 40% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Berck?
INSEE counts 350 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.7% of residents, and 210 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Berck?
€23,340 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.0% 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.