Flats make up 1.3% in Palluel, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Here 4.4% of households rent social housing (HLM), where the figure in the typical compared French town is 12%. 3.8% of households are single parents, or about one in 26. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 97% of compared French towns. Palluel had 566 residents in 270 households at the 2023 census.
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 Palluel
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 38 second homes and occasional dwellings in Palluel, 12% of its 320 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 73% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Second homes: 12%, a higher share than 89% 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
Without a car: one household in eight, against 11% in the median compared French town. Few places have so few empty homes: 3.9% here, fewer than in 89% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Long tenure is the mark of 22% of households (30 years or more), short tenure of 9.3% (under two years).
Slower than most: +3% since 2012, behind 56% 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −1% for the median Pas-de-Calais town, the change came in two steps: +3% from 2012 to 2017, then +1% to 2023.
Older than 80% of compared French towns: half of Palluel is over 49.2
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Palluel 49.2. The median compared French town: 44.
In Palluel, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
Palluel ranks below 58% of compared French towns on couples with children: 24%
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 average 2.1 people. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. 34% of households are one person living alone (typical compared French town: 35%).
Standard of living at the median: €24,330 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 €24,330 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
Palluel ranks above 90% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 22%
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: 37%, above 74% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 1.4%, a lower share than 97% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Palluel has 0.7%. As a yardstick, 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.
A smaller share of single residents than 98% of compared French towns: 18%
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
Married residents make up 49%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 88% of compared French towns: 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
Adults with no qualification: 22%, above nearly two thirds of compared French towns. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
Ranked by age, 14th oldest 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Palluel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palluel | 49.2 | 22% | 12% | 1.4% |
| Arleux 3,125 · 1.1 mi | 43.3 | 21% | 12% | 1.4% |
| Courchelettes 2,855 · 5.6 mi | 47.3 | 27% | 0.7% | 2.9% |
| Monchecourt 2,516 · 5.7 mi | 39.3 | 19% | 0.9% | 1.1% |
| Brebières 5,283 · 5.9 mi | 40.6 | 18% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Dechy 5,338 · 6 mi | 40 | 21% | 0.3% | 5.4% |
| Guesnain 4,635 · 6.1 mi | 42.9 | 24% | 0.1% | 4.4% |
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 Palluel
What is the population of Palluel?
566 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% more than in 2012 (547).
How old are Palluel’s residents?
The median age is 49.2, older than 80% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 22% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Palluel?
38, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Palluel?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.4% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (0.7%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Palluel?
€24,330 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). 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.