Half of Dourges is under 37.6, younger than 90% of compared French towns
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, a fifth of households are headed by a manual worker in Dourges. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 6,139, in 2,510 households. Census figures put flats at 8.3% locally. Fewer one-person households than in 80% of compared French towns: 29%.
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 Dourges
A town of families
34% of households are couples with children and 11% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A young town
Half of Dourges’ residents are under 37.6 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 21% are under 15 and 15% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Dourges’s population changed by +8% since 2012, more than in 63% 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 +4%; 2017 to 2023, +4%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 89% of compared French towns: 15%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Dourges 37.6. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 11% of residents are 15 to 24; in Dourges, 12%. By way of comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of couples with children than 91% of compared French towns, at 34%
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
On average, 2.4 people share a household. Compared with other places, single-parent households are common here: 11%, more than in 69% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for couples with children is 25% in the typical compared French town.
Only 0.4% of homes are second homes in Dourges
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
Car-free households: one in nine, where the median compared French town has 11%. On households in social housing, Dourges sits higher than nearly four fifths of compared French towns: 21%. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 17: 6% of homes stand empty.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €23,290 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.
The median standard of living in Dourges is €23,290 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 79% of compared French towns. 17.0% of residents have a standard of living below 60% of France’s median.
Households headed by a retired person make up 27% in Dourges, less than in 78% 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
In Dourges, 7.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional, beside 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a retired person make up 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Dourges sits below 83% of compared French towns for immigrants (2.9%)
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Dourges comes in at 1.5%. The usual figure: 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Pas-de-Calais has 1.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 83% of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Fewer married residents than 52% of compared French towns: 43%
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
Across Dourges, 25% of residents 15 and over are single.
24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 72% 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
20% of adults out of school have no qualification, a higher share than in 56% of compared French towns. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
2nd lowest median age among 41 French towns of 6,078 to 6,199
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 Ostricourt (35.8), the youngest, and Le Barcarès (63.7), the oldest.
5 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Dourges
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dourges | 37.6 | 15% | 0.4% | 2.9% |
| Noyelles-Godault 5,994 · 1.1 mi | 37.8 | 18% | 0.7% | 4.1% |
| Courcelles-lès-Lens 7,830 · 1.8 mi | 36 | 14% | 0.4% | 5.1% |
| Hénin-Beaumont 25,688 · 2 mi | 39.9 | 18% | 0.6% | 4% |
| Évin-Malmaison 4,628 · 2.1 mi | 39 | 17% | 0.2% | 6.6% |
| Oignies 10,323 · 2.1 mi | 39.7 | 19% | 0.5% | 6.5% |
| Courrières 10,176 · 2.3 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 0.1% | 3.5% |
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 Dourges
What is the population of Dourges?
6,139 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (5,684).
How old are Dourges’ residents?
The median age is 37.6, younger than 90% of compared French towns. 25% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Dourges?
11, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Dourges?
INSEE counts 180 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.9% of residents, and 90 foreign nationals (1.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Dourges?
€23,290 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 17.0% 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.