Brebières: 33% of households are couples with children, above 87% of compared French towns
The median age in Brebières is 40.6, lower than in three quarters of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 5,283 people lived in the town, in 2,230 households. Households headed by a manual worker account for 22%. In Brebières, 0.3% of homes are second homes, beside 2.1% in the typical compared French town.
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.
Brebières’s population changed by +9% since 2012, more than in 65% 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
In two steps, +3% to 2017 and +5% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −1% in Pas-de-Calais.
In Brebières, 18% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 75% 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
■ Brebières 40.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Put another way, about one in nine: 11% of residents are 15 to 24. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Fewer one-person households than 84% of compared French towns: 28%
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
At 9.1%, the share of single-parent households is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town. The benchmark for one-person households in the typical compared French town: 35%. A household here holds 2.4 people on average.
Brebières sits below 85% of compared French towns for flats (11%)
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 Brebières, 5.2% of homes stand empty, beside 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town. On the census count, 13% of households rent social housing (HLM).
Median standard of living: €25,370 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €25,370 a year: lower than in 56% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 12.0% of residents.
Households headed by a retired person: 30%, a lower share than 62% 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
Households headed by a manager or professional account for 9.8%. Measured more widely, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 1.4% of residents are immigrants in Brebières
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 97% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. Here, 0.7% 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.
Single residents make up 22% in Brebières, less than in 79% 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
Married residents: 45% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Adults with no qualification: 16%, a lower share than 68% 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
In Brebières, 28% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
10th lowest median age among 41 French towns of 5,222 to 5,344
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Mormant is the youngest (36.8); Bretignolles-sur-Mer the oldest (62.9).
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Brebières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brebières | 40.6 | 18% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Vitry-en-Artois 4,849 · 1.8 mi | 41.4 | 22% | 0.6% | 1.3% |
| Courchelettes 2,855 · 1.9 mi | 47.3 | 27% | 0.7% | 2.9% |
| Lambres-lez-Douai 4,883 · 2.4 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 0.4% | 2.6% |
| Cuincy 6,467 · 3.4 mi | 44 | 23% | 0.4% | 4.7% |
| Biache-Saint-Vaast 4,568 · 3.7 mi | 38.5 | 17% | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| Douai 40,250 · 3.9 mi | 37.8 | 19% | 1.5% | 8.1% |
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 Brebières
What is the population of Brebières?
5,283 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 9% more than in 2012 (4,866).
How old are Brebières’ residents?
The median age is 40.6, younger than 75% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Brebières?
6, with occasional dwellings: 0.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Brebières?
INSEE counts 74 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 39 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Brebières?
€25,370 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 12.0% 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 8, 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.