Photo: Johny-le-cowboy · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Alma is over 48, older than 80% of Canadian towns
45% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. With about 30,659 residents in July 2025, Alma counted 13,815 households at the 2021 Census. For Alma, the census puts one-person households at 36%. Fewer residents with no religion than in 88% of Canadian towns: 19%.
What stands out about the people of Alma
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 28% of adults, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, while 31% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Alma ranks above 73% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 19%
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is English: 0.4%, below 99% of Canadian towns. For bilingual residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 7.5%.
Alma’s population moved −1% on 2016, less than in 86% of Canadian towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Quebec’s towns, +4%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 25% in Alma, more than in 80% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
No age band is larger than 60–64: nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 19% of residents are 65 or over. For Alma, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.8%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Alma, 48. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Alma households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Here, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families.
Alma sits above 91% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (28%)
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 27% of adults, beside a typical 27%. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%. In Alma, 31% of residents 15 and over are married.
In Alma, 34% of households rent their home, more than in 65% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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 single-detached houses: 52% here and 64% across Canada’s towns. On average, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Census figures put households in buildings of five or more storeys at 0.2% in Alma.
Households here have a median income of $67,500 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Alma had $67,500 before tax, 22% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Quebec’s towns have a median of $74,000. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 26% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
In Alma, 9.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 68% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Set against 17% across Canada’s towns, 0.9% of residents are immigrants in Alma. The wider picture: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. 0.7% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
3.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 55% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 92% of Canadian towns: 1.3%. On average, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
16% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 79% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
13% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
56% of adults were employed in May 2021
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 25% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 56% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 2nd of 41 towns of 28,904 to 32,167 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Between Alloa (31.3) and Magog (54.4) lies the rest of the group. Closest in median age to Alma are Grimsby (45.2), Vimont (46.1) and Magog (54.4).
Alma is older than every town around it
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | 30,659 | — | 48 | 25% | 0.9% |
| Saint-Nazaire | 2,167 | 6.7 km | 40.4 | 18% | 1% |
| Saint-Bruno | 2,935 | 9.2 km | 38.4 | 17% | 0.7% |
| Saint-Gédéon | 2,349 | 9.8 km | 48 | 24% | 0.5% |
| Hébertville-Station | 1,298 | 12.1 km | 42.8 | 20% | 0% |
| L'Ascension-de-Notre-Seigneur | 2,291 | 15.3 km | 42.8 | 19% | 0.5% |
| Larouche | 1,734 | 15.8 km | 42.8 | 18% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Quebec’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.
Questions about Alma’s residents
Is Alma bilingual?
English and French: 19% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 0.1%. French only: 81%. French mother tongue: 99%.
How diverse is Alma?
0.9% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.3% belong to a visible minority and 3.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Alma?
81% are Christian and 19% have no religion; 0.5% follow another religion.
Is Alma good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 52% of households. One-parent families: 8.1%. Schools near Alma are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Alma?
The median household in Alma took in $67,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Alma?
Alma had about 30,659 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 30,331, 1% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Alma?
A median age of 48, older than 80% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 25%.
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).