Photo: Harfang · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 48.4: Baie-Comeau is older than 81% of Canadian towns
Residents with no religion: 23%, below 82% of Canadian towns. Lower than in 96% of Canadian towns: 1.4% of residents are immigrants. Statistics Canada puts Baie-Comeau’s population at 20,660 for July 2025. The share of one-person households stands at 37%.
What stands out about the people of Baie-Comeau
Fewer people than before
Baie-Comeau went from 21,536 people in 2016 to 20,687 in 2021, −4%: slower growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Common-law couples
31% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 27% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bilingual residents make up 21% in Baie-Comeau, more than in 75% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. 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
With residents whose mother tongue is English at 0.7%, Baie-Comeau is behind 98% of Canadian towns on that count. At home: French 99%, English 0.5%. Measured more widely, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Slower than most: −4% since 2016, behind 94% 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
By July 2025, Statistics Canada’s estimate had barely moved.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 71% of Canadian towns: 23%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
In Baie-Comeau, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 11% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Baie-Comeau, 48.4. The typical town is 42.
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 Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
On the census count, 8.4% of households are one-parent families.
A larger share of common-law partners than 95% of Canadian towns: 31%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
With married residents 15 and over at 27%, Baie-Comeau is behind 94% of Canadian towns on that count. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
Below 66% of Canadian towns: 52% of households live in a single-detached house
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
A quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, against 31% in Baie-Comeau. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 24% predate 1961, 4% date from 2001 or later. Higher than in 61% of Canadian towns: 1% of households live in a building of five or more storeys.
Half above, half below $75,500 a year in household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Baie-Comeau’s households had a total income below $75,500, 12% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Quebec’s towns: $74,000. COVID-19 benefits went to 22% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Baie-Comeau sits below 62% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (9.8%)
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
Nearly two in five immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 1.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens. The wider picture: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Baie-Comeau ranks above 62% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 4%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (1.7%), Baie-Comeau is below 88% of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
18% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, below 73% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
12% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
An employment rate of 58%
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, much like this 58%.
Of 41 towns its size (20,071 to 21,267 people), the 9th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The span goes from 32.5 (Édouard-Montpetit) up to 57.2 (Niagara-on-the-Lake). Thornlea (47.8), Rivière-du-Loup (48.4), Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures (48.8) and Westmount (48.8): the towns nearest Baie-Comeau in median age.
Median age: 2 of the 3 towns around Baie-Comeau are older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baie-Comeau | 20,660 | — | 48.4 | 23% | 1.4% |
| Pointe-Lebel | 1,800 | 8.8 km | 49.2 | 22% | 0.6% |
| Chute-aux-Outardes | 1,406 | 17.1 km | 52.8 | 25% | 0% |
| Pointe-aux-Outardes | 1,447 | 17.1 km | 47.6 | 20% | 1.1% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Quebec’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- 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 Baie-Comeau’s residents
Is Baie-Comeau good for families?
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 51% of households and one-parent families 8.4%. Schools near Baie-Comeau are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Baie-Comeau?
Half of Baie-Comeau’s households had more than $75,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Baie-Comeau?
About 20,660, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 20,687 people in Baie-Comeau, 4% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Baie-Comeau?
The median age is 48.4, older than 81% of Canadian towns. 14% are under 15 and 23% 65 or older.
Is Baie-Comeau bilingual?
English and French: 21% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 0.1%. French only: 78%. French mother tongue: 98%.
How diverse is Baie-Comeau?
Immigrants: 1.4% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 1.7%. Indigenous identity: 4%.
What religion are people in Baie-Comeau?
23% said they have no religion and 77% that they are Christian; 0.4% named another faith.
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).