In Desvres, 24% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 95% of compared French towns
Here 10% of homes stand empty, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. Lower than in 78% of compared French towns: 15% of homes are flats. Desvres’s 2,090 households held 4,829 residents at the 2023 Census. About one in six: that is how common households without a car are in Desvres (18%).
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 Desvres
Fewer residents than in 2012
Desvres had 5,142 residents at the 2012 census and 4,829 in 2023, down 6%: slower growth than in 91% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Desvres’s population moved −6% on 2012, less than in 91% 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
Here the change came as −3% to 2017, then −3% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Pas-de-Calais.
Younger than 67% of compared French towns: half of Desvres is under 41.9
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Desvres 41.9. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 78% of compared French towns: 12%. For Desvres, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 23%.
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%.
27% of households are couples with children, more than in 62% 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
Households average 2.3 people. As a reference point, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are more common here than in 63% of compared French towns. At 35%, the share of one-person households is in line with the figure in the typical compared French town.
Only 11% of households rent social housing (HLM) in Desvres
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
Second homes are about as common here as in the typical compared French town: 1.5%. Typically, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town.
A median of €20,700 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 Desvres’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €20,700 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Below the poverty threshold: 25.0% of the population.
In Desvres, 4.5% of households are headed by a manager or professional, fewer than in 90% 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
The census found that a third of households are headed by a retired person in Desvres. The usual figure: 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 0.9%
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 Desvres, 0.8% of residents are foreign nationals, beside 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 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.
Only 35% of residents 15 and over are married in Desvres
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 29%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 17%, a lower share than 94% 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
28% of adults out of school have no qualification; in the typical compared French town the figure is 19%. As a reference point, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 10th youngest of 41 French towns of 4,789 to 4,868 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.
Ages run from 32.7 in Rosières-près-Troyes to 60.2 in La Turballe.
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 3 are older than Desvres
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desvres | 41.9 | 23% | 1.5% | 0.9% |
| Samer 4,704 · 4.3 mi | 37.7 | 16% | 1% | 0.6% |
| Saint-Léonard 3,353 · 9.2 mi | 49 | 27% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Saint-Étienne-au-Mont 5,029 · 9.4 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| Saint-Martin-Boulogne 10,888 · 9.7 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 1.4% | 2.1% |
| Neufchâtel-Hardelot 4,115 · 9.9 mi | 51.8 | 30% | 65% | 2.1% |
| Rinxent 2,987 · 10.2 mi | 41.2 | 19% | 1.4% | 0.9% |
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 Desvres
What is the population of Desvres?
4,829 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% fewer than in 2012 (5,142).
How old are Desvres’ residents?
The median age is 41.9, younger than 67% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 23% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Desvres?
35, with occasional dwellings: 1.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Desvres?
INSEE counts 42 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.9% of residents, and 40 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Desvres?
€20,700 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 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.