A lower share of flats than 99% of compared French towns, at 1.2%
1.3% of households rent social housing (HLM); in the typical compared French town the figure is 12%. At the 2023 Census, 1,724 people lived in Helfaut, in 710 households. Empty homes make up about one in 29 here (3.4%). Lower than in 89% of compared French towns: 8.4% of residents are 15 to 24.
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.
Helfaut grew +8% from 2012 to 2023, faster than 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 change was +6% from 2012 to 2017 and +2% from 2017 to 2023. The median compared French town changed +5% over the same years, the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%.
A median age of 49.9: Helfaut is older than 83% 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
■ Helfaut 49.9. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 22%; Helfaut has 28%.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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 smaller share of one-person households than 91% of compared French towns: 26%
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 25% in the typical compared French town, 28% of households are couples with children in Helfaut. On the census count, 6.4% of households are single parents. In the typical compared French town, one-person households come to 35%.
In Helfaut, 6% of households have no car, fewer than in 81% 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
In the last two years, 9.2% of households moved in; at the other end, 29% have stayed 30 years or more. For households without a car, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 11%. At 0.9%, the share of second homes is lower than in just over four fifths of compared French towns.
Median living standard: €26,060 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 €26,060 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is higher than in 51% of compared French towns.
A lower share of households headed by a manager or professional than 86% of compared French towns, at 5%
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, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person; in Helfaut, 38%. On average, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town. Roughly two in ten: 21% of households are headed by a manual worker.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.8%, a lower share than 94% 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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Helfaut has 0.9%. In the typical compared French town, the share of immigrants is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Helfaut sits above 95% of compared French towns for married residents (51%)
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, 21% of residents 15 and over are single in Helfaut. The share of married residents in the typical compared French town is 43%.
29% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 55% 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
For Helfaut, the census puts adults with no qualification at 20%. The usual figure: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 1,724 to 2,582 people: this is the 14th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
Helfaut is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helfaut | 49.9 | 28% | 0.9% | 1.8% |
| Wizernes 3,321 · 1.2 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 0.6% | 1.2% |
| Blendecques 4,859 · 1.8 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| Longuenesse 10,548 · 2.8 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 0.6% | 6.8% |
| Arques 9,431 · 3.4 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 1% | 2.8% |
| Saint-Omer 14,382 · 3.8 mi | 36.7 | 17% | 2.4% | 5.5% |
| Saint-Martin-lez-Tatinghem 5,843 · 3.9 mi | 47.1 | 25% | 1% | 2.7% |
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 Helfaut
What is the population of Helfaut?
1,724 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% more than in 2012 (1,596).
How old are Helfaut’s residents?
The median age is 49.9, older than 83% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Helfaut?
7, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Helfaut?
INSEE counts 31 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.8% of residents, and 16 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Helfaut?
€26,060 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 8, 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.