A median age of 54.9: Le Boisle is older than 94% of compared French towns
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Le Boisle’s population at 329, in 160 households. The census found that 0.5% of homes are flats locally. The share of households headed by a manual worker tops 88% of compared French towns: 21%.
Throughout this page, the Somme 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 Le Boisle
One home in seven is a second home
The census counted 34 second homes and occasional dwellings in Le Boisle, 15% of its 220 homes: higher than in 91% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Le Boisle had 384 residents at the 2012 census and 329 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Le Boisle’s residents are under 54.9 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 33% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 27 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Le Boisle sits above 91% of compared French towns for second homes (15%)
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
21% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. For comparison, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in eight: just over one in ten homes stand empty.
−14% since 2012: slower than 99% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −5%, and from 2017 to 2023 −9%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Somme town −3%.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns: 5.7%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Le Boisle 54.9. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 33%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Somme 52.5%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of one-person households than 77% of compared French towns: 42%
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 Somme median and the France median
Living alone · share
At 9.3%, single-parent households sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town. One-person households make up 35% in the typical compared French town. Couples with children account for 21%.
Standard of living at the median: €22,960 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 Le Boisle’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,960 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
More households headed by a retired person than 87% of compared French towns: 41%
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
About one in 11: that is how common households headed by a manager or professional are in Le Boisle (9.3%). On average, 32% of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 96% of compared French towns: 1.5% of residents are immigrants
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: 0.9%, below 95% of compared French towns. For immigrants, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Le Boisle ranks below 84% of compared French towns on single residents: 21%
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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, 47% of residents 15 and over are married in Le Boisle. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Le Boisle ranks below 99% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 11%
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
44% of adults out of school have no qualification, against 19% in the typical compared French town. For graduates of higher education, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 30%.
7th highest median age among 41 French towns of 329 to 2,582
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 Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Le Boisle
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Boisle | 54.9 | 33% | 15% | 1.5% |
| Auxi-le-Château 2,547 · 6.3 mi | 50.3 | 31% | 3.5% | 1.4% |
| Hesdin-la-Forêt 4,480 · 7.5 mi | 52.1 | 33% | 3.5% | 2.4% |
| Abbeville 22,395 · 13.2 mi | 47.1 | 25% | 1.5% | 2.7% |
| Frévent 3,259 · 13.3 mi | 49 | 27% | 1.7% | 1% |
| Rue 2,987 · 13.9 mi | 53.8 | 35% | 11% | 1.3% |
| Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise 4,677 · 17.2 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 1.5% | 1.8% |
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 Le Boisle
What is the population of Le Boisle?
329 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (384).
How old are Le Boisle’s residents?
The median age is 54.9, older than 94% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 33% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Le Boisle?
34, with occasional dwellings: 15% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Le Boisle?
INSEE counts 5 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 3 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Le Boisle?
€22,960 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.