Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 1,756 residents and lies in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France.
Schools do well: brevet results 2.8 points above the expected rate. Housing is within reach: at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 4.6 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Its weakest is health (D−) — after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 24% above expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. Work and incomes lag (D): 0.2 jobs per working resident; 10.5% unemployment. Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work: 49% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 5% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work.
Figures: brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · employment and commuting, INSEE census 2023 · amenities, INSEE BPE 2025. Nortkerque has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas.
The 2 things Nortkerque does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Nortkerque with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
Nortkerque has subject grades but no overall grade: French towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Nortkerque, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
The oldest protected part dates from the 18th century; the first monument here was protected in 2010.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Nortkerque.
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
The nearest emergency department to Nortkerque is Centre hospitalier de Calais, 7.5 mi away. From 2016 to 2025, 132 residents of Nortkerque died, against 107 expected from France’s death rates at each age: 24% more. Also worth knowing: in Pas-de-Calais, women can expect to live 83.5 years and men 77.5 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · Care-home places are adjusted for by TownRatings, using a model rather than an official statistic.
4.7% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Pas-de-Calais’ towns (10.3%) and compared French towns (13.4%) alike. The typical income here, after tax and benefits, is €25,250 a year per consumption unit. Of those in the labour force, 10.5% are unemployed.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
General-bac pupils go 8.4 mi to the nearest lycée. The nearest collège is 1.7 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège du BredenardeNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 86 | 90%+2 pts |
| Collège Notre-Dame de Grâce PrivateBest against expectations: 6 points above the expected rateCollège | Collège | 90 | 99%+6 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
23% of adults hold a degree, between Pas-de-Calais’ towns (22%) and compared French towns (30%). Retirement age and beyond: 16% of residents are 65 or older. Nortkerque has a median age of 39.6 years.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
| Nortkerque | Pas-de-Calais median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 24% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 30% | 27% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Higher education | 23% | 22% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Pas-de-Calais median and France median: the median of compared communes
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Behind the median of €1,694/m²: 41 houses and apartments sold in Nortkerque between July 2023 and June 2026. Renting a house costs an estimated €8.91/m² a month.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €1,694/m² | 41 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
The oldest protected building goes back to the 18th century. The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Nortkerque, none of them classé, France’s highest protection.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
Nortkerque has one historic monument; beside it, the nearest classé monuments in other towns, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Nortkerque yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nortkerque | 1,756 | — | — | B+ | — | D− |
| Audruicq | 5,309 | 2.1 | B | B+ | B | D |
| Ardres | 4,389 | 2.1 | B | B− | A− | D− |
| Marck | 10,467 | 6.6 | C | C− | A− | C− |
| Guînes | 5,479 | 6.7 | C+ | B− | C | D− |
| Oye-Plage | 5,780 | 7.2 | C+ | B− | A− | D |
| Éperlecques | 3,737 | 7.3 | — | B− | — | D− |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Nortkerque has no Safety Grade: over a quarter of its index would rest on the département’s average. Recorded figures: an average of 6.2 recorded violent incidents and 5.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
They grade A, better than 91% of compared French towns. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,694/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Nortkerque grades B+ for cost of living.
Commune in Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Nortkerque is a commune of 1,756 people in the Communauté de communes de la Région d'Audruicq. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, 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.