Half of Buire-le-Sec is under 37.1, younger than 91% of compared French towns
The share of households headed by a manual worker is 23%, against 14% in the typical compared French town. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 753 residents and 310 households in Buire-le-Sec. Put another way, about one in four: 25% of households rent social housing (HLM).
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 Buire-le-Sec
A young town
Half of Buire-le-Sec’s residents are under 37.1 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 22% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Buire-le-Sec had 799 residents at the 2012 census and 753 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 90% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−6% since 2012: slower than 90% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −1% for the median Pas-de-Calais town, the change came in two steps: −3% from 2012 to 2017, then −3% to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 14% in Buire-le-Sec, less than in 93% 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
■ Buire-le-Sec 37.1. The median compared French town: 44.
On the census count, 10% of residents are 15 to 24. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
A smaller share of 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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 30% of households are couples with children in Buire-le-Sec. At 11%, the share of single-parent households is higher than in just over two thirds of compared French towns. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Households here average 2.4 people each.
8.4% of homes stand empty, more than in 67% 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
Of all households, 5.8% moved in during the last two years and 26% have stayed three decades or more. The wider picture: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Few places have as many second homes: 3.2% here, more than in 64% of compared French towns. One household in 10 has no car (median compared French town: 11%).
At the median, €21,740 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.
Living standards centre on €21,740 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 90% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 3.1% in Buire-le-Sec, less than in 97% 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
Put another way, about one in three: a third of households are headed by a retired person. 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).
0.3% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 99% 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.
In the typical compared French town, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals; in Buire-le-Sec, 0.1%. Against that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
A lower share of married residents than 72% of compared French towns, at 40%
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 make up 23%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents make up 43% in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 99% of compared French towns: 13%
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
With adults with no qualification at 24%, Buire-le-Sec is ahead of 74% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 753 to 2,582 people
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 Buire-le-Sec (37.1), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Every neighbor is older than Buire-le-Sec
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buire-le-Sec | 37.1 | 14% | 3.2% | 0.3% |
| Verton 2,571 · 7.8 mi | 47.1 | 23% | 13% | 1.5% |
| Rang-du-Fliers 4,297 · 8.7 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 7.5% | 2.6% |
| Hesdin-la-Forêt 4,480 · 9.6 mi | 52.1 | 33% | 3.5% | 2.4% |
| Rue 2,987 · 10.3 mi | 53.8 | 35% | 11% | 1.3% |
| Merlimont 3,342 · 10.7 mi | 54.8 | 34% | 67% | 2% |
| Berck 12,951 · 10.9 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 40% | 2.7% |
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 Buire-le-Sec
What is the population of Buire-le-Sec?
753 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (799).
How old are Buire-le-Sec’s residents?
The median age is 37.1, younger than 91% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 14% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Buire-le-Sec?
11, with occasional dwellings: 3.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Buire-le-Sec?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.3% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Buire-le-Sec?
€21,740 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 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.