38% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 97% of compared French towns
Single-parent households: 15% here and 10% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, households headed by a manual worker are common here: 21%, more than in 86% of compared French towns. Méricourt had 11,619 residents in 4,900 households at the 2023 Census. For Méricourt, the census puts second homes at 0.4%.
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 Méricourt
Social housing
38% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 14% rent privately and 46% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
From 2012 to 2023, 75% of compared French towns grew faster than Méricourt: −1%
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 change was −3%; from 2017 to 2023, +2%. Over the same years the median compared French town changed +5%, the median Pas-de-Calais town −1%.
Younger than 76% of compared French towns: half of Méricourt is under 40.6
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Méricourt 40.6. The median compared French town: 44.
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Méricourt comes in at 12%. A fifth of residents are 65 or over, a lower share than in 62% of compared French towns.
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%.
A higher share of couples with children than 70% of compared French towns, at 29%
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
Each household has 2.3 people on average. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 32%, fewer than in 68% of compared French towns. To put it in context, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
Households without a car: 20%, a higher share than 83% 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
The share of flats trails 76% of compared French towns: 16%. Empty homes are rarer here than in 81% of compared French towns. Households without a car: 11% in the typical compared French town, for comparison. Turnover: nearly one in ten households moved in less than two years ago, and 26% have lived in their home 30 years or more.
Standard of living at the median: €20,640 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 €20,640 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 95% of compared French towns. Residents below the poverty line make up 26.0%.
Households headed by a manager or professional make up 4.3% in Méricourt, less than in 91% 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 about one in three here (32%). As a yardstick, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
5.3% of residents are immigrants, below 60% 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.
Foreign nationals account for 3.5%. Elsewhere, 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.
Méricourt: 27% of residents 15 and over are single, above 64% 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
The share of married residents is 42%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
In Méricourt, 17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 94% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 29%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 12th 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.
The youngest is Dugny (31.9), the oldest Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer (55.2).
Méricourt 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Méricourt | 40.6 | 20% | 0.4% | 5.3% |
| Sallaumines 9,414 · 1.2 mi | 38.2 | 19% | 0.4% | 8.9% |
| Rouvroy 8,552 · 1.5 mi | 40.4 | 18% | 0.5% | 2.2% |
| Noyelles-sous-Lens 6,854 · 1.5 mi | 40 | 20% | 0.3% | 4.7% |
| Billy-Montigny 7,937 · 1.8 mi | 36.8 | 15% | 0.6% | 4.3% |
| Avion 17,435 · 1.9 mi | 38.9 | 16% | 0.3% | 5.1% |
| Fouquières-lès-Lens 6,087 · 2 mi | 39.2 | 20% | 0.4% | 3.6% |
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 Méricourt
What is the population of Méricourt?
11,619 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% fewer than in 2012 (11,751).
How old are Méricourt’s residents?
The median age is 40.6, younger than 76% of compared French towns. 23% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Méricourt?
20, with occasional dwellings: 0.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Méricourt?
INSEE counts 610 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.3% of residents, and 400 foreign nationals (3.5%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Méricourt?
€20,640 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 26.0% 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.