Esquerdes ranks below 99% of compared French towns on flats: 0.5%
Here a quarter of households are one person living alone, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 35%. The 2023 Census counted 1,594 residents in 630 households. About one in 28: that is how common empty homes are in Esquerdes (3.6%). Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are scarce here: 8.7%, fewer than in 86% of compared French towns.
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.
Slower growth than 58% of compared French towns: Esquerdes changed by +3% since 2012
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
Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved +5%, then −2% to 2023.
Younger than 71% of compared French towns: half of Esquerdes is under 41.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Esquerdes 41.2. The median compared French town: 44.
21% of Esquerdes’ residents are 65 or older, against 20% in the median Pas-de-Calais town and 22% in the median compared French town; 23% are under 18.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 31%, a higher share than 80% 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
Set against 10% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten households are single parents in Esquerdes. Couples with children: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. On average, 2.4 people share a household.
6.5% of households rent social housing (HLM), fewer than in 80% 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
By its share of second homes (0.9%), Esquerdes is below 84% of compared French towns. Lower than in 70% of compared French towns: 7.4% of households have no car. The wider picture: just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 6.9% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 28%.
A median of €24,650 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.
Living standards centre on €24,650 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 64% of compared French towns.
22% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 91% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; Esquerdes has 34%. Across Esquerdes, 7.1% of households are headed by a manager or professional. The usual figure: 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 1.1%
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 share of foreign nationals is 0.9%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%. The median compared commune in Pas-de-Calais has 1.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% 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.
Single residents make up 23% in Esquerdes, less than in 68% 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
On the census count, 44% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Below 64% of compared French towns: 26% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification
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 the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification is 19%; Esquerdes has 17%. Measured more widely, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,594 to 2,582 people), the 6th youngest
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 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Esquerdes and its 6 nearest towns: 5 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esquerdes | 41.2 | 21% | 0.9% | 1.1% |
| Wizernes 3,321 · 2.1 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 0.6% | 1.2% |
| Lumbres 3,579 · 2.9 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 1% | 0.7% |
| Saint-Martin-lez-Tatinghem 5,843 · 3.8 mi | 47.1 | 25% | 1% | 2.7% |
| Longuenesse 10,548 · 4 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 0.6% | 6.8% |
| Blendecques 4,859 · 4.1 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| Saint-Omer 14,382 · 4.7 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 Esquerdes
What is the population of Esquerdes?
1,594 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (1,549).
How old are Esquerdes’ residents?
The median age is 41.2, younger than 71% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Esquerdes?
6, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Esquerdes?
INSEE counts 17 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.1% of residents, and 14 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Esquerdes?
€24,650 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.