Only 3.3% of homes are flats in Guarbecque
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 29% of households are one person living alone here. More households headed by a manual worker than in 82% of compared French towns: 20%. At the 2023 Census, 1,381 people lived in Guarbecque, in 610 households. For Guarbecque, the census puts households in social housing at 5.1%.
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.
A change of −3% since 2012 leaves Guarbecque behind 81% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved ±0%, and from 2017 to 2023 −3%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%.
Older than 65% of compared French towns: half of Guarbecque is over 46.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Guarbecque 46.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 12% in Guarbecque and 11% in the typical compared French town. Locally, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
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%.
Guarbecque: 16% of households are single parents, above 97% 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
Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, 28% of households are couples with children here. The usual figure: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
Empty homes: 3.9%, a lower share than 88% 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
The figure for second homes is 0.6% in Guarbecque and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. On households without a car, Guarbecque sits lower than three quarters of compared French towns: 6.7%. 7.7% of households moved in less than two years ago; 34% have been in their home 30 years or more.
Half above, half below €25,250 a year in standard of living
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 midpoint of living standards here is €25,250 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 57% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person: 35%, a higher share than 65% 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 figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 7.4% in Guarbecque and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
0.7% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 99% 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 median compared commune in Pas-de-Calais has 1.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 99% of compared French towns. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town. The census found that 0.4% of residents are foreign nationals in Guarbecque.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
In Guarbecque, 22% of residents 15 and over are single, fewer than in 79% 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
46% of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). For single residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 59% of compared French towns: 27%
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
By its share of adults with no qualification (21%), Guarbecque is above just over three fifths of compared French towns. Set beside that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (1,381 to 2,582 people), the 18th oldest
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.
Guarbecque sits below 1 of its 6 closest neighbors on median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guarbecque | 46.2 | 22% | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Isbergues 8,650 · 1.2 mi | 46.1 | 25% | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Saint-Venant 2,999 · 2.3 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 1.4% | 2% |
| Lillers 10,193 · 3.4 mi | 40.8 | 20% | 0.5% | 1.9% |
| Aire-sur-la-Lys 9,598 · 4.4 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 0.4% | 1% |
| Gonnehem 2,525 · 5 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Burbure 2,834 · 5.3 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 1.2% | 0.7% |
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 Guarbecque
What is the population of Guarbecque?
1,381 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (1,420).
How old are Guarbecque’s residents?
The median age is 46.2, older than 65% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Guarbecque?
4, with occasional dwellings: 0.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Guarbecque?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.7% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (0.4%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Guarbecque?
€25,250 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 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.