Photo: Jarosław Baranowski · CC BY-SA 3.0Only 1.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in Le Portel
Compared with 2.1% in the typical compared French town, 5.1% of homes are second homes here. 8,768 residents in 4,110 households: that is Le Portel at the 2023 Census. Across Le Portel, 31% of households have no car. This Pas-de-Calais town has more single-parent households than 92% of compared French towns, at 14%.
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 Le Portel
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Portel had 9,836 residents at the 2012 census and 8,768 in 2023, down 11%: slower growth than in 98% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Social housing
38% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 20% rent privately and 40% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −11% change since 2012: slower than 98% 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 −5% from 2017 to 2023.
12% of residents are 15 to 24, a share 80% of compared French towns don’t reach
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Portel 44. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in Le Portel is 44, lower than in half of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town. The census found that 21% of residents are 65 or over locally.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
40% of households are one person living alone, a share 70% 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
Households here average 2.1 people each. Set beside that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Fewer couples with children than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns: 22%.
A higher share of households in social housing than 97% of compared French towns, at 38%
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
With empty homes at 8.5%, Le Portel is ahead of 68% of compared French towns on that count. As a yardstick, just over one in ten households rent social housing (HLM) in the typical compared French town. Flats make up about one in two here (49%).
Half of residents have a standard of living above €20,870 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 €20,870 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 94% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 25.0% of residents are below the line.
More households headed by a manual worker than 94% of compared French towns: 24%
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. In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Le Portel, 1.1% 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. Census figures put foreign nationals at 0.8% in Le Portel. In the typical compared French town, immigrants come to 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of married residents than 78% of compared French towns: 38%
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
The figure for single residents is 28% in Le Portel and 25% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
In Le Portel, 13% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 99% 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
The figure for adults with no qualification is 34% in Le Portel and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification.
The 19th oldest of 41 French towns of 8,629 to 8,908 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Saint-Jory (34.3), the oldest Saint-Jean-de-Monts (60.2).
Median age: 3 of the 6 towns around Le Portel are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Portel | 44 | 21% | 5.1% | 1.1% |
| Outreau 13,138 · 0.7 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 1% | 1.4% |
| Boulogne-sur-Mer 40,539 · 1.6 mi | 39.8 | 20% | 3.9% | 5.2% |
| Équihen-Plage 2,619 · 2.3 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 17% | 0.8% |
| Saint-Martin-Boulogne 10,888 · 2.5 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 1.4% | 2.1% |
| Saint-Léonard 3,353 · 2.5 mi | 49 | 27% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Saint-Étienne-au-Mont 5,029 · 3 mi | 41.4 | 18% | 1.2% | 1.3% |
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 Le Portel
What is the population of Le Portel?
8,768 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 11% fewer than in 2012 (9,836).
How old are Le Portel’s residents?
The median age is 44, younger than 50% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Portel?
240, with occasional dwellings: 5.1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Portel?
INSEE counts 100 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.1% of residents, and 66 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Portel?
€20,870 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 25.0% 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.