DesbiensQuebec

Desbiens’s grade for health: an A

The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 66%, ahead of the 57% for Quebec. Smoking is rarer than in the province: just over one in ten adults, against 12% for Quebec. Life expectancy in the region is 81.8 years (83.2 for women, 80.4 for men, 2022/2024). Chronic conditions run at 15% of adults, age-standardised, above Quebec’s towns (15%) but below Canadian towns (17%). Desbiens shares its health survey and life expectancy numbers with the rest of the Région du Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean.

Rent takes less of local pay in Desbiens than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: 14% of household income

Shelter took 30% or more of income for 8% of households, lower than both Quebec’s towns (13%) and Canadian towns (18%). 77% of households are owner-occupiers.

Desbiens has lower household incomes than 89% of Canadian towns

Commutes averaged 23 min, below both Quebec’s towns (27 min) and Canadian towns (26 min). 92% of commuters took the car to work at the census.

Desbiens has colder winters than Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: January lows of −20.8°C

July afternoons in Desbiens average 23.7°C. Frost comes on 187 days a year, higher than both Quebec’s towns (161) and Canadian towns (159). Gardeners get 137 frost-free days, from 17 May to 2 October. Snow peaks in December: 55 cm in a normal year.

Desbiens’s grade for safety: a B+

Measured across Lac-Saint-Jean-Est MRC: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000

The force’s area logs 11.6 thefts, break-ins and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 50 over 2023–25, lower than both Quebec’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67).

A median age of 50: Desbiens is older than 85% of Canadian towns

First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 5.6% of residents, above both Quebec’s towns (1.5%) and Canadian towns (2.8%). 13% speak both English and French, below Quebec’s towns (44%) but above Canadian towns (7.5%).

A normal November in Desbiens runs from −5°C to 2°C

The month after, December, normally sees −6°C afternoons and −15°C nights. Expect around 39 cm of snow in November. A normal November brings 71 mm of rain and snow. At the extremes, July afternoons reach 24°C and January nights −21°C.

Desbiens has a council seat for every 150 residents, fewer than 98% of municipalities in Quebec

Lac-Saint-Jean is the riding Desbiens votes in for the National Assembly of Québec, and its MNA (Member of the National Assembly, Québec’s legislature) isn’t named here because no open list records the members.

Desbiens has no public library of its own; the nearest is Bibliothèque de Métabetchouan, 5.3 km away

The next is Bibliothèque Publique De Chambord (Chambord), 9 km away.

Desbiens’ hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 2.8% of area homes over the radon guideline

Earthquakes are expected to cost $0.16 a year for every $1,000 of buildings, close to Quebec’s towns ($0.14) and above Canadian towns ($0.030). Wildfire is rare near Desbiens: 0.1% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, a burn rate of 0.002% a year. The national flood inventory has no study of the town. For radon tests, the only official count covers all of the Saguenay - Lac-Saint-Jean health region, Desbiens included.

8.8 km from Desbiens to Pointe-Taillon National Park (Québec)

Within 5 km are 4 beaches; Plage Blanchet is the nearest. No national park lies within 100 km. The protected share within 10 km is 0.6%, where a typical Canadian town has 2.3%.

Desbiens’s teenagers travel 7.7 km to the nearest high school

History in Desbiens goes back to 1760: Powder magazine at Poste-de-Traite-de-la-Métabetchouane

Inside the town there is 1 historic place, a top designation. At the 2021 census, 46% of homes dated from before 1961, above Quebec’s towns (21%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike.