A higher share of empty homes than 93% of compared French towns, at 14%
The figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 4.3% in Fruges and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. This Pas-de-Calais town is home to 2,362 residents in 1,030 households, by the 2023 Census. Locally, just over a quarter of residents are 65 or over. At 20%, the share of households without a car is higher than in 83% 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.
What stands out about the people of Fruges
Empty homes
The census found 170 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −4% since 2012, behind 85% 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 median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%.
Half of Fruges is over 47.1, older than 70% 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
■ Fruges 47.1. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (12%), Fruges is above 68% of compared French towns.
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%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A lower share of couples with children than 71% of compared French towns, at 21%
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, 12% of households are single parents in Fruges. Across the comparison, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. The share of one-person households stands at 39%.
Below 77% of compared French towns: 15% of homes are flats
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
Some 10% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 19% who have been there 30 years or more. Households in social housing make up about one in eight here (12%).
Median standard of living: €20,450 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.
Half of residents live in households above €20,450 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Under the poverty line sit 26.0% of residents.
Above 97% of compared French towns: 26% of households are headed by a manual worker
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
Households headed by a retired person: 36%, above 71% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 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).
1.3% of residents are immigrants, below 98% 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.
The share of foreign nationals is 0.8%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants: 6.5% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 91% of compared French towns: 35% of residents 15 and over are married
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
Set against 25% in the typical compared French town, 29% of residents 15 and over are single in Fruges. The benchmark for married residents in the typical compared French town: 43%.
17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 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
29% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 15th oldest 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Of the 6 towns nearest Fruges, 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruges | 47.1 | 26% | 1.9% | 1.3% |
| Hesdin-la-Forêt 4,480 · 10.5 mi | 52.1 | 33% | 3.5% | 2.4% |
| Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise 4,677 · 12.9 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| Lumbres 3,579 · 13.2 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 1% | 0.7% |
| Cauchy-à-la-Tour 2,593 · 14 mi | 44.7 | 23% | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Wizernes 3,321 · 14.3 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 0.6% | 1.2% |
| Aire-sur-la-Lys 9,598 · 14.5 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 0.4% | 1% |
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 Fruges
What is the population of Fruges?
2,362 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 4% fewer than in 2012 (2,460).
How old are Fruges’ residents?
The median age is 47.1, older than 70% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fruges?
23, with occasional dwellings: 1.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fruges?
INSEE counts 31 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.3% of residents, and 18 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Fruges?
€20,450 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 26.0% 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.