Houdain ranks below 95% of compared French towns on flats: 5.3%
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 83% of compared French towns. There were 2,980 households in Houdain at the 2023 Census, home to 6,945 residents. About one in four: that is how common households in social housing are in Houdain (24%). Here 29% of households are couples with children, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%.
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 Houdain
Fewer residents than in 2012
Houdain had 7,559 residents at the 2012 census and 6,945 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Houdain changed by −8% from 2012 to 2023, behind 95% 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%. The first five years brought −4%; the six to 2023, −4%.
In Houdain, 12% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 82% 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
■ Houdain 43.3. The median compared French town: 44.
With a median age of 43.3, Houdain is younger than 55% of compared French towns. Against that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. Across Houdain, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
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%.
One-person households make up 32% in Houdain, less than in 65% 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
The typical household size is 2.3 people. On the census count, 11% of households are single parents. By way of comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
In Houdain, 0.5% of homes are second homes, fewer than in 96% 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
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 15% of households have no car here. Second homes: 2.1% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. About one in 12: that is how common empty homes are in Houdain (8.6%).
Half of residents have a standard of living above €21,170 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.
Living standards centre on €21,170 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 93% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 22.0% of residents are below the line.
Houdain: 22% of households are headed by a manual worker, above 89% 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
Households headed by a retired person make up 36%, against 32% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 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).
A smaller share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 0.9%
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Houdain comes in at 0.5%. On average, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of married residents than 69% of compared French towns, at 40%
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
27% of residents 15 and over are single, against 25% in the typical compared French town. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Houdain ranks below 86% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 20%
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
Against a figure of 19% in the typical compared French town, the share of adults with no qualification in Houdain comes in at 22%. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Among 41 French towns of 6,865 to 7,021 people, the 19th 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 34.9 in Bailly-Romainvilliers to 54.2 in Nérac.
Houdain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houdain | 43.3 | 22% | 0.5% | 0.9% |
| Bruay-la-Buissière 21,424 · 1.7 mi | 39.7 | 19% | 0.7% | 2.1% |
| Haillicourt 5,064 · 1.7 mi | 38.9 | 18% | 0.1% | 0.9% |
| Divion 6,766 · 2 mi | 38.9 | 19% | 0.7% | 1% |
| Barlin 7,331 · 3.1 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| Calonne-Ricouart 5,369 · 3.3 mi | 41 | 20% | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| Marles-les-Mines 5,411 · 3.7 mi | 42.8 | 21% | 0% | 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 Houdain
What is the population of Houdain?
6,945 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (7,559).
How old are Houdain’s residents?
The median age is 43.3, younger than 55% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Houdain?
16, with occasional dwellings: 0.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Houdain?
INSEE counts 66 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.9% of residents, and 34 foreign nationals (0.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Houdain?
€21,170 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 22.0% 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 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.