Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainOlder than 89% of Canadian towns: half of Prairie Lakes is over 51.6
With renter households at 10%, Prairie Lakes is behind 88% of Canadian towns on that count. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 48% here, more than in 84% of Canadian towns. This Manitoba town is home to some 1,679 people (July 2025 estimate), in 670 households at the 2021 Census. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.4%.
What stands out about the people of Prairie Lakes
Older than most towns
Half of Prairie Lakes’s residents are under 51.6 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Prairie Lakes went from 1,453 people in 2016 to 1,625 in 2021, +12%: faster growth than in 87% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Prairie Lakes grew +12% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 87% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 3%. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Manitoba’s towns, +4%.
Above 77% of Canadian towns: 24% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; across Canada’s towns the figure is 11%. Set beside that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 83% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Set against 27% across Canada’s towns, 31% of households are one person living alone in Prairie Lakes. One-parent families account for 5.2%.
Above 88% of Canadian towns: 57% of residents 15 and over are married
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up nearly a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Prairie Lakes, the census puts common-law partners at 10%.
Households in single-detached houses: 92%, a higher share than 92% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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. For households in single-detached houses, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 64%. Two in five homes were built before 1961 and 21% in 2001 or later.
Median gross household income: $69,500 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Prairie Lakes: half had less than $69,500, 19% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Manitoba’s towns the median is $83,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 16% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
4.9% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Set against 17% across Canada’s towns, 4.9% of residents are immigrants in Prairie Lakes. In Prairie Lakes, 2.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
Indigenous residents make up 5.6% in Prairie Lakes, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 3.5% of residents belong to a visible minority in Prairie Lakes. As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
83% have English as their mother tongue; 3.1% also speak French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At 2.2%, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. Prairie Lakes has fewer bilingual residents than 93% of Canadian towns, at 3.1%.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 13% in Prairie Lakes, less than in 87% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
60% of adults were employed in May 2021
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 60% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Every neighbour of Prairie Lakes has a younger population
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Distances here run 21–39 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Prairie Lakes.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Lakes | 1,679 | — | 51.6 | 24% | 4.9% |
| Killarney | 3,708 | 21.2 km | 47.2 | 27% | 7.8% |
| Oakland-Wawanesa | 1,869 | 30.9 km | 40.8 | 18% | 4.1% |
| Boissevain | 2,369 | 32.0 km | 45.2 | 26% | 5.8% |
| Argyle | 1,035 | 35.8 km | 50 | 26% | 6.9% |
| Glenboro-South Cypress | 1,759 | 39.0 km | 44.8 | 24% | 3.1% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Manitoba’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Prairie Lakes’s residents
What is the average age in Prairie Lakes?
51.6 is the median age. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 24%.
Is Prairie Lakes bilingual?
3.1% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 95% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.2%.
How diverse is Prairie Lakes?
Immigrants make up 4.9% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3.5% are members of a visible minority, and 5.6% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Prairie Lakes?
Christian: 52%. No religion: 48%. Another religion: 0%.
Is Prairie Lakes good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 62% of households are couple families and 5.2% one-parent families. Schools near Prairie Lakes are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Prairie Lakes?
$69,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Prairie Lakes (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Prairie Lakes?
Statistics Canada estimates 1,679 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 1,625 in Prairie Lakes, 12% more than 2016.
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).