Below 96% of compared French towns: 3.3% of households are headed by a manager or professional
The figure for flats is 6.6% in Roisel and 30% in the typical compared French town. This Somme town had 1,626 residents in 750 households at the 2023 Census. For Roisel, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 25%. Lower than in 79% of compared French towns: 1% of homes are second homes.
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 Roisel
Fewer residents than in 2012
Roisel had 1,740 residents at the 2012 census and 1,626 in 2023, down 7%: slower growth than in 92% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 110 homes empty (13%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A −7% change since 2012: slower than 92% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, −3% in Somme.
Half of Roisel is over 46.6, older than 67% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Roisel 46.6. The median compared French town: 44.
At 10%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 58% of compared French towns.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Somme 52.5%, France 51.8%.
33% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 63% 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 Somme median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 2.2 people. As a yardstick, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Few places have as many couples with children: 26% here, more than in 54% of compared French towns. Little separates the share of single-parent households here, 10%, from the figure in the typical compared French town.
In Roisel, 13% of homes stand empty, more than in 90% 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
14% of households have no car (typical compared French town: 11%). Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 9.4% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 32%. Roisel has fewer households in social housing than 58% of compared French towns, at 10%. Against that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,930 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 €22,930 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 82% of compared French towns.
In Roisel, 42% of households are headed by a retired person, more than in 88% 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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a manual worker is 14%; Roisel has 21%. Against that, 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).
In Roisel, 2.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 90% 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.
Here 1.3% of residents are foreign nationals, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. As a reference point, 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.
Roisel ranks below 63% of compared French towns on single residents: 24%
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
On the census count, 43% of residents 15 and over are married. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 94% of compared French towns: 17%
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 Roisel, 30% of adults out of school have no qualification, beside 19% in the typical compared French town.
Ranked by age, 18th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
2 of 6 neighbors are older than Roisel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roisel | 46.6 | 25% | 1% | 2.2% |
| Péronne 7,090 · 7.4 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 1.4% | 4.3% |
| Saint-Quentin 52,813 · 10.9 mi | 41.3 | 23% | 1.6% | 9% |
| Gauchy 5,183 · 11.7 mi | 47.7 | 24% | 0.4% | 4% |
| Masnières 2,689 · 12.4 mi | 40 | 19% | 0.7% | 2.1% |
| Ham 4,378 · 13.8 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 1% | 2.8% |
| Fresnoy-le-Grand 2,890 · 14.2 mi | 44.1 | 23% | 1.2% | 2.7% |
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 Roisel
What is the population of Roisel?
1,626 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 7% fewer than in 2012 (1,740).
How old are Roisel’s residents?
The median age is 46.6, older than 67% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 25% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Roisel?
9, with occasional dwellings: 1% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Roisel?
INSEE counts 35 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.2% of residents, and 21 foreign nationals (1.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Roisel?
€22,930 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 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.