More couples with children than 99% of compared French towns: 40%
In Penin, just over one in ten households are headed by a retired person, beside 32% in the typical compared French town. With a median age of 40.3, Penin is younger than 77% of compared French towns. This Pas-de-Calais town had 458 residents in 180 households at the 2023 Census. 1.5% of homes are flats.
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 Penin
A town of families
40% of households are couples with children and 8.6% single parents with children; 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A change of +1% since 2012 leaves Penin behind 64% 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 +5% from 2012 to 2017 and −3% from 2017 to 2023.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 81% of compared French towns: 17%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Penin 40.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Just over one in ten residents are 15 to 24 (typical compared French town: 11%). Across the comparison, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%.
One-person households make up 23% in Penin, less than in 98% of compared French towns
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
With single-parent households at 8.6%, Penin is behind 73% of compared French towns on that count. Across the comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Each household has 2.5 people on average.
4.4% of households have no car, below 92% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a reference point, just over one in ten households have no car in the typical compared French town. Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 6% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 26%. 7% of homes stand empty, about the same as in the typical compared French town.
A typical living standard of €25,550 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.
Half of residents live in households above €25,550 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 54% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 97% of compared French towns: 26%
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
With households headed by a manager or professional at 5.7%, Penin is behind 79% of compared French towns on that count. As a reference point, 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).
In Penin, 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.
0.9% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. Against that, 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.
Penin ranks below 80% of compared French towns on single residents: 22%
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
By its share of married residents (45%), Penin is above two thirds of compared French towns. As a yardstick, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
25% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 70% 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
In Penin, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 458 to 2,582 people: this is the 4th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Nearby, 4 of 6 towns have older populations than Penin
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penin | 40.3 | 17% | 2% | 1.1% |
| Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise 4,677 · 7.6 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| Houdain 6,945 · 9.4 mi | 43.3 | 22% | 0.5% | 0.9% |
| Frévent 3,259 · 9.4 mi | 49 | 27% | 1.7% | 1% |
| Divion 6,766 · 10.1 mi | 38.9 | 19% | 0.7% | 1% |
| Barlin 7,331 · 10.5 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| Haillicourt 5,064 · 10.8 mi | 38.9 | 18% | 0.1% | 0.9% |
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 Penin
What is the population of Penin?
458 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 1% more than in 2012 (452).
How old are Penin’s residents?
The median age is 40.3, younger than 77% of compared French towns. 26% are under 18 and 17% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Penin?
4, with occasional dwellings: 2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Penin?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.1% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Penin?
€25,550 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 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.