Lestrem: 34% of households are couples with children, above 90% of compared French towns
The share of flats is 12%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. 5.8% of households have no car, fewer than in 82% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 5,009 residents and 2,030 households in Lestrem. Locally, nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
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 Lestrem
A town of families
34% of households are couples with children and 7.4% single parents with children; 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Lestrem’s population changed by +16% since 2012, more than in 83% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought +5%; 2017 to 2023, +11%.
Younger than 72% of compared French towns: half of Lestrem is under 41.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Lestrem 41.2. The median compared French town: 44.
One in ten residents are 15 to 24, a lower share than in 55% of compared French towns.
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%.
Only 26% of households are one person living alone in Lestrem
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 share of single-parent households is 7.4%, against 10% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. The average household has 2.4 people.
A smaller share of second homes than 83% of compared French towns: 0.9%
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
One household in 17 has no car, against 11% in the median compared French town. At 5.3%, the share of empty homes is lower than in 70% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for second homes is 2.1% in the typical compared French town. For Lestrem, the census puts households in social housing at 12%.
A median standard of living of €27,570 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 Lestrem is €27,570 a year per consumption unit: higher than in 66% of compared French towns. As for poverty, 8.0% of residents are below the line.
In Lestrem, 17% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 72% 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
The figure for households headed by a retired person is 30% in Lestrem and 32% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. The share of households headed by a manager or professional stands at 9.9%.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Lestrem ranks below 97% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1.4%
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 Lestrem comes in at 0.7%. The median compared commune in Pas-de-Calais has 1.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 97% of compared French towns. 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.
In Lestrem, 49% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 89% of compared French towns
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
With single residents at 21%, Lestrem is behind 84% of compared French towns on that count. In the typical compared French town, 43% of residents 15 and over are married.
Graduates of higher education: 32%, a higher share than 58% 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
About one in six: that is how common adults with no qualification are in Lestrem (18%). Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 4,952 to 5,066 people: this is the 9th 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.
At the ends of the range sit Bezannes (31.7), the youngest, and Gruissan (58.6), the oldest.
Median age: 5 of the 6 towns around Lestrem 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lestrem | 41.2 | 19% | 0.9% | 1.4% |
| La Gorgue 5,616 · 2.4 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 0.3% | 1.5% |
| La Couture 2,590 · 2.6 mi | 45.3 | 21% | 0.4% | 0.9% |
| Estaires 6,525 · 2.8 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 0.7% | 1.5% |
| Merville 9,808 · 2.8 mi | 39 | 18% | 1.2% | 1.8% |
| Richebourg 2,687 · 3.7 mi | 45.3 | 22% | 0.7% | 1.1% |
| Laventie 5,044 · 4.2 mi | 43.6 | 22% | 0.5% | 1.6% |
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 Lestrem
What is the population of Lestrem?
5,009 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% more than in 2012 (4,329).
How old are Lestrem’s residents?
The median age is 41.2, younger than 72% of compared French towns. 24% are under 18 and 19% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Lestrem?
20, with occasional dwellings: 0.9% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Lestrem?
INSEE counts 70 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 37 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Lestrem?
€27,570 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 8.0% 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 October 30, 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.