Fewer households headed by a manager or professional than 95% of compared French towns: 3.5%
Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Isbergues has 7.6%. Meanwhile, the median age here is 46.1, higher than in 64% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 8,650, in 3,880 households. 14% of households have no car, or about one in seven.
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 Isbergues
Fewer residents than in 2012
Isbergues had 9,119 residents at the 2012 census and 8,650 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 88% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −5% since 2012, behind 88% 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 −3%, and from 2017 to 2023 −2%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%.
Above 64% of compared French towns: 25% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Isbergues 46.1. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 come to 11% in Isbergues, about one in ten. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
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%.
26% of households are couples with children, a share 52% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 2.2 people. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. Single-parent households make up about one in 11 here (9.5%).
Empty homes make up 8.4% in Isbergues, more than in 68% 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
6.9% of households moved in less than two years ago; 32% have been in their home 30 years or more. In the typical compared French town, the share of empty homes is 6.7%. Fewer second homes than in 73% of compared French towns: 1.2%. Where 12% of households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town, Isbergues has 10%.
Half of residents have a standard of living above €22,440 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.
The median standard of living in Isbergues is €22,440 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 86% of compared French towns. Some 18.0% of residents fall below the poverty line.
More households headed by a manual worker than 87% of compared French towns: 21%
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
Where 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Isbergues has 40%. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
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 Isbergues
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 0.6%, Isbergues is behind 99% of compared French towns on that count. Across the comparison, 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.
Fewer married residents than 66% of compared French towns: 41%
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
A quarter of residents 15 and over are single, or about one in four. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Isbergues sits below 90% of compared French towns for graduates of higher education (19%)
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
With adults with no qualification at 24%, Isbergues is ahead of 72% of compared French towns on that count. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
10th highest median age among 41 French towns of 8,552 to 8,754
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 Saint-Jory (34.3), the youngest, and Le Grau-du-Roi (62.3), the oldest.
Around Isbergues, 1 of 6 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isbergues | 46.1 | 25% | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Aire-sur-la-Lys 9,598 · 3.2 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 0.4% | 1% |
| Saint-Venant 2,999 · 3.3 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 1.4% | 2% |
| Lillers 10,193 · 3.9 mi | 40.8 | 20% | 0.5% | 1.9% |
| Burbure 2,834 · 5.6 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 1.2% | 0.7% |
| Morbecque 2,573 · 5.7 mi | 44.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 1.2% |
| Gonnehem 2,525 · 6.1 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 0.9% | 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 Isbergues
What is the population of Isbergues?
8,650 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (9,119).
How old are Isbergues’ residents?
The median age is 46.1, older than 64% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Isbergues?
52, with occasional dwellings: 1.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Isbergues?
INSEE counts 69 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 0.8% of residents, and 50 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Isbergues?
€22,440 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 18.0% 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.