In Elnes, 1.4% of homes are flats, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker; in Elnes, 26%. 836 residents in 340 households: that is Elnes at the 2023 Census. Locally, 27% of households are one person living alone. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in three quarters of compared French towns: 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 Elnes
Fewer residents than in 2012
Elnes had 943 residents at the 2012 census and 836 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
36% of households are couples with children and 10% single parents with children; 19% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Elnes changed by −11% from 2012 to 2023, slower than 98% 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 −9% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Pas-de-Calais.
Elnes is younger than 54% of compared French towns: a median age of 43.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Elnes 43.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Here, just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Elnes: 36% of households are couples with children, above 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
The typical household size is 2.4 people. As a reference point, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Locally, one in ten households are single parents.
Below 81% of compared French towns: 6.2% 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
Of all households, 7.3% moved in during the last two years and 29% have stayed three decades or more. Typically, 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, households without a car are scarce here: 6.4%, fewer than in 78% of compared French towns. The figure for empty homes is 4.7% in Elnes and 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
The median resident lives on €23,650 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.
At €23,650 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 75% of compared French towns.
5.7% of households are headed by a manager or professional, below 79% 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
Here 30% of households are headed by a retired person, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 32%. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a manager or professional come to 9.4%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Elnes sits below 99% of compared French towns for immigrants (0.6%)
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.
Set against 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 0.6% of residents are foreign nationals in Elnes. 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.
Married residents: 45%, a higher share than 63% 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
The share of single residents is 24%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A lower share of graduates of higher education than 79% of compared French towns, at 22%
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 Elnes, just over a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 13th youngest of 41 French towns this size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
3 of 6 neighbors are older than Elnes
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elnes | 43.5 | 18% | 1.2% | 0.6% |
| Lumbres 3,579 · 1.2 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 1% | 0.7% |
| Wizernes 3,321 · 5 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 0.6% | 1.2% |
| Saint-Martin-lez-Tatinghem 5,843 · 6.4 mi | 47.1 | 25% | 1% | 2.7% |
| Longuenesse 10,548 · 6.8 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 0.6% | 6.8% |
| Blendecques 4,859 · 6.9 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| Saint-Omer 14,382 · 7.4 mi | 36.7 | 17% | 2.4% | 5.5% |
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 Elnes
What is the population of Elnes?
836 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (943).
How old are Elnes’ residents?
The median age is 43.5, younger than 54% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Elnes?
5, with occasional dwellings: 1.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Elnes?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.6% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Elnes?
€23,650 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 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.