Photo: SempreVolando · CC BY 3.0Indigenous residents: 25%, a higher share than 98% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Lac la Biche County has 7.7%. On the census count, 19% of residents are under 15. Households in single-detached houses are more common here than in 71% of Canadian towns. About 8,580 people lived in the town in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates.
What stands out about the people of Lac la Biche County
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
25% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 98% of Canadian towns; 5.5% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Lac la Biche County went from 8,330 to 7,673 residents (−8%), slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Lac la Biche County has changed by −8%, slower than 99% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 12%. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Alberta’s towns, +1%.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, a higher share than 70% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Half of Lac la Biche County’s residents are under 41.6, younger than in 53% of Canadian towns. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents. For comparison, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%, against 19% across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Lac la Biche County, 41.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.6 people per household, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The figure for one-person households is 24% in Lac la Biche County and 27% across Canada’s towns. 7.3% of households are one-parent families.
52% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 67% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: just over a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. The wider picture: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 10% of the total.
Fewer renter households than 58% of Canadian towns: 22%
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. 34% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 7.8% built before 1961. The comparison figure for renter households is 25% across Canada’s towns.
The median household brings in $95,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Lac la Biche County’s, at $95,000, is 10% higher. Among Alberta’s towns, the typical figure is $92,200. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 26% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
9.5% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (60%), then in the Americas (21%). Fewer immigrants than in 66% of Canadian towns: 9.5%. 47% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns.
Lac la Biche County sits below 57% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (33%)
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (4.5%). Set beside that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Where 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, Lac la Biche County has 11%.
5.7% of residents have French as their mother tongue, more than in 72% of Canadian towns
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Bilingual residents: 12% here and 7.5% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 1.5%. At home, 5.1% mostly speak another language; 0.3% speak neither English nor French.
Lac la Biche County sits below 74% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (18%)
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
15% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
An employment rate of 58%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 58%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
41 towns of 8,419 to 8,744 people: this is the 20th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages here range from 30.2 in Garneau to 57.2 in Muskoka Lakes. Closest in median age to Lac la Biche County are Crestview (40.9), Dauphin (41.2), Rocky Ridge (42.1) and Lac-Beauport (42.4).
Older than Lac la Biche County: 3 of the 4 towns nearby
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. The nearest places to Lac la Biche County with figures are 50–79 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac la Biche County | 8,580 | — | 41.6 | 18% | 9.5% |
| White Fish Lake 128 | 1,122 | 49.6 km | 25 | 7.8% | 0% |
| Smoky Lake County | 4,043 | 70.8 km | 44.8 | 21% | 3.4% |
| Athabasca County | 7,280 | 72.4 km | 47.6 | 20% | 4.1% |
| Smoky Lake | 1,159 | 79.0 km | 61.6 | 45% | 6.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
Questions about Lac la Biche County’s residents
What is the population of Lac la Biche County?
Lac la Biche County had about 8,580 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 7,673, 8% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Lac la Biche County?
A median age of 41.6, younger than 53% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 19%, and people 65 and over 18%.
Is Lac la Biche County bilingual?
English and French: 12% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 88%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 5.7%.
How diverse is Lac la Biche County?
9.5% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 11% belong to a visible minority and 25% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Lac la Biche County?
62% are Christian and 33% have no religion; 5.4% follow another religion.
Is Lac la Biche County good for families?
Under 15: 19% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 59% of households. One-parent families: 7.3%. Schools near Lac la Biche County are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Lac la Biche County?
The median household in Lac la Biche County took in $95,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).