Sandy Lake 88 is younger than 99% of Canadian towns: a median age of 22.8
Sandy Lake 88 is a First Nations reserve, home to ᓀᑲᐤ ᕊᑲᐃᑲᓂᐣ᙮. 98% of households live in a single-detached house; across Canada’s towns the figure is 64%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 2,175 residents; the 2021 Census found 490 households. Across Sandy Lake 88, 19% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Few places have so few one-person households: 11% here, fewer than in 96% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Sandy Lake 88
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
99% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 99% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 15% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Sandy Lake 88’s residents are under 22.8 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are under 15 and 3.6% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Faster growth than 50% of Canadian towns: Sandy Lake 88 changed by +4% since 2016
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Residents aged 65 and over make up 3.6% in Sandy Lake 88, less than in 99% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 5–9, with 13% of residents, 2.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. In Sandy Lake 88, 36% of residents are under 15. As a yardstick, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women.
Larger households than 99% of Canadian towns: 4.3 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 13% of households are one-parent families in Sandy Lake 88.
Sandy Lake 88 sits below 99% of Canadian towns for married residents 15 and over (21%)
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 45% of adults, against a typical 27%. 20% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a higher share than in 84% of Canadian towns.
Sandy Lake 88 ranks below 99% of Canadian towns on renter households: 4%
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. The benchmark for renter households across Canada’s towns: 25%. 38% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Household income, middle of the range: $47,200 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
Sandy Lake 88’s median household took in $47,200 before tax, 45% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $91,600 is the median household income across Ontario’s towns. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 6.6% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Above 99% of Canadian towns: 99% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 35%; Sandy Lake 88 has 42%. The benchmark for Indigenous residents across Canada’s towns: 2.8%.
English is the mother tongue of 81%, and 0.5% speak French as well
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
Residents whose mother tongue is French are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. In Sandy Lake 88, 0.5% of residents speak English and French.
In Sandy Lake 88, 2.8% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 99% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 56% here, 9.5% in the typical town. The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 37% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 37%; 3.6% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age: 1 of the 4 towns around Sandy Lake 88 are older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. The nearest places to Sandy Lake 88 with figures are 69–141 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Lake 88 | 2,175 | — | 22.8 | 3.6% | 0% |
| Deer Lake | 1,030 | 68.8 km | 23.4 | 2.3% | 0% |
| Garden Hill First Nation | 3,143 | 121.0 km | 21.4 | 4.4% | 0% |
| St. Theresa Point | 3,619 | 129.0 km | 19.8 | 3.4% | 0% |
| Wasagamack | 2,175 | 140.7 km | 19 | 3.4% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A First Nations reserve. Reserves are compared with Canada’s towns but aren’t counted among them: they have no overall grade and no place in ranked lists. Census figures for small reserves are rounded, and some are suppressed.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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 Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Ontario’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.
Questions about Sandy Lake 88’s residents
What is the population of Sandy Lake 88?
Sandy Lake 88 had about 2,175 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 2,100, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Sandy Lake 88?
A median age of 22.8. Children under 15 make up 36%, and people 65 and over 3.6%.
Is Sandy Lake 88 bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 0.5% are. Another 0% speak only French and 100% only English, and French is the first language of 0%.
How diverse is Sandy Lake 88?
Indigenous identity: 99%. Visible minority: 0%. Statistics Canada publishes no immigration figures for Sandy Lake 88.
What religion are people in Sandy Lake 88?
57% are Christian and 42% have no religion; 1.4% follow another religion.
Is Sandy Lake 88 good for families?
Under 15: 36% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 34% of households. One-parent families: 13%. Schools near Sandy Lake 88 are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sandy Lake 88?
The median household in Sandy Lake 88 took in $47,200 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).