Billy-Montigny is younger than 92% of compared French towns: a median age of 36.8
Where 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town, Billy-Montigny has 25%. This Pas-de-Calais town had 7,937 residents in 3,360 households at the 2023 Census. For Billy-Montigny, the census puts households headed by a manual worker at 23%. Few places have as many couples with children: 28% here, more than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns.
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 Billy-Montigny
A young town
Half of Billy-Montigny’s residents are under 36.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 21% are under 15 and 15% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
38% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 18% rent privately and 42% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Billy-Montigny had 8,284 residents at the 2012 census and 7,937 in 2023, down 4%: slower growth than in 85% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Billy-Montigny’s population moved −4% on 2012, less than in 85% 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 −2%; 2017 to 2023, −3%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%.
14% of residents are 15 to 24, a share 93% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Billy-Montigny 36.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 15% of residents are 65 or over in Billy-Montigny.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Single-parent households: 15%, a higher share than 95% 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
There are 2.4 people in the average household. For comparison, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. 35% of households are one person living alone, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Above 98% of compared French towns: 38% 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
In the last two years, 9.9% of households moved in; at the other end, 19% have stayed 30 years or more. Fewer second homes than in 93% of compared French towns: 0.6%. To put it in context, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Where 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, Billy-Montigny has 8.7%.
€19,530 a year: the median standard of living
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 residents live in households above €19,530 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 97% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 31.0% of the population.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 93% of compared French towns, at 4%
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 trails three quarters of compared French towns: 28%. Typically, 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).
Fewer immigrants than 70% of compared French towns: 4.3%
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 70% of compared French towns. On average, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Here, 3.3% of residents are foreign nationals.
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 38% in Billy-Montigny, less than in 81% 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
Single residents: 30% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 94% of compared French towns: 17%
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
Nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, against 27% in Billy-Montigny. Elsewhere, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 7,829 to 8,042 people: this is the 5th 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.
Linas is the youngest (33.8); Lège-Cap-Ferret the oldest (57.7).
No nearby town is as young as Billy-Montigny
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy-Montigny | 36.8 | 15% | 0.6% | 4.3% |
| Fouquières-lès-Lens 6,087 · 0.8 mi | 39.2 | 20% | 0.4% | 3.6% |
| Rouvroy 8,552 · 1.2 mi | 40.4 | 18% | 0.5% | 2.2% |
| Montigny-en-Gohelle 9,743 · 1.2 mi | 38.1 | 20% | 0.1% | 4.4% |
| Noyelles-sous-Lens 6,854 · 1.6 mi | 40 | 20% | 0.3% | 4.7% |
| Drocourt 2,939 · 1.7 mi | 40.9 | 22% | 0.2% | 1.4% |
| Hénin-Beaumont 25,688 · 1.7 mi | 39.9 | 18% | 0.6% | 4% |
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 Billy-Montigny
What is the population of Billy-Montigny?
7,937 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (8,284).
How old are Billy-Montigny’s residents?
The median age is 36.8, younger than 92% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Billy-Montigny?
23, with occasional dwellings: 0.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Billy-Montigny?
INSEE counts 340 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.3% of residents, and 270 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Billy-Montigny?
€19,530 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 31.0% 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.