Flats: 0.6%, a lower share than 99% of compared French towns
Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, 20% of households are one person living alone in Houchin. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 738, in 290 households. Put another way, about one in five: just over a fifth of households are headed by a manager or professional. 16% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 85% 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 Houchin
A town of families
35% 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.
Faster growth than 54% of compared French towns: Houchin changed by +6% 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
Here the change came as +3% to 2017, then +3% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −1% in Pas-de-Calais.
A median age of 42.7: Houchin is younger than 60% 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
■ Houchin 42.7. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town, against 10% in Houchin.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Houchin sits above 93% of compared French towns for couples with children (35%)
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
Average household size: 2.6 people. Elsewhere, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. One in ten households are single parents, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
Houchin sits below 90% of compared French towns for households without a car (4.7%)
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
6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town, against 9.3% in Houchin. On average, just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town. Second homes account for 0.6%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €26,350 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.
At €26,350 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is higher than in 54% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a retired person make up 24% in Houchin, less than in 87% 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
Compared with 14% in the typical compared French town, 16% of households are headed by a manual worker here. In the typical compared French town, households headed by a retired person come to 32%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Only 0.8% of residents are immigrants in Houchin
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.
With foreign nationals at 0.1%, Houchin is behind 99% of compared French towns on that count. 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.
Houchin ranks below 88% of compared French towns on single residents: 21%
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
By its share of married residents (47%), Houchin is above just over three quarters of compared French towns. The benchmark for single residents in the typical compared French town: 25%.
16% of adults out of school have no qualification, below 69% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%; Houchin has 34%. For comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 10th 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
2 of 6 neighbors are older than Houchin
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houchin | 42.7 | 16% | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Verquin 3,445 · 1.7 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 0.2% | 2.3% |
| Barlin 7,331 · 2 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| Nœux-les-Mines 11,590 · 2.2 mi | 43.7 | 24% | 0.6% | 1.6% |
| Haillicourt 5,064 · 2.2 mi | 38.9 | 18% | 0.1% | 0.9% |
| Labourse 2,858 · 2.8 mi | 39.7 | 15% | 0.6% | 2.3% |
| Hersin-Coupigny 6,082 · 2.8 mi | 39.3 | 17% | 0.4% | 0.8% |
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 Houchin
What is the population of Houchin?
738 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (698).
How old are Houchin’s residents?
The median age is 42.7, younger than 60% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Houchin?
2, with occasional dwellings: 0.6% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Houchin?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.8% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Houchin?
€26,350 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.