Photo: busand2003 · CC BY 3.0Half of Gaspé is over 50.4, older than 86% of Canadian towns
8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Here, one in ten residents have an Indigenous identity. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 33%, more than in 72% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 6,780 households in Gaspé; by July 2025 the population was about 15,479.
What stands out about the people of Gaspé
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 29% of adults, more than in 93% of Canadian towns, while 30% are married. Couples ↓
Older than most towns
Line Gaspé’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 50.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 26% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
More bilingual residents than 83% of Canadian towns: 35%
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
In Gaspé, one in ten residents have English as their mother tongue, beside 66% across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. At home: French 88%, English 9.9%.
Gaspé changed by +3% from 2016 to 2021, behind 54% of Canadian towns
The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +4% across Quebec’s towns.
26% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. The census found that 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Gaspé.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Gaspé, 50.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Gaspé households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 74% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Census figures put one-parent families at 8.3% in Gaspé.
29% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 93% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 27% of adults, against a typical 27%. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns. The census found that 30% of residents 15 and over are married in Gaspé.
Gaspé sits above 64% of Canadian towns for households in single-detached houses (74%)
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
29% of homes were built before 1961 and 17% in 2001 or later. In Gaspé, 28% of households rent their home, beside 25% across Canada’s towns.
Household income, middle of the range: $72,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $72,000, the middle household in Gaspé earned 16% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Quebec’s towns have a median of $74,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 23% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
2% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
1.3% of residents are not Canadian citizens, against 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Gaspé has fewer immigrants than 93% of Canadian towns, at 2%.
Fewer residents with no religion than 89% of Canadian towns: 18%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 1.9% here and 15% across Canada’s towns. The wider picture: 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 67% of Canadian towns: 20%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 16% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
53% of residents 15 and over were in work
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 53% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 26% of residents are 65 or over.
41 towns of 15,181 to 15,792 people: this is the 3rd oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The youngest is Laurel (31.2) and the oldest Parksville (62). By median age, Gaspé sits among Severn (49.6), Lachute (50.4), Sainte-Adèle (53.6) and Parksville (62).
Gaspé is younger than every town around it
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 30–48 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Gaspé.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaspé | 15,479 | — | 50.4 | 26% | 2% |
| Percé | 3,137 | 29.7 km | 57.6 | 34% | 1.6% |
| Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé | 1,009 | 44.4 km | 56.4 | 31% | 0% |
| Grande-Rivière | 3,318 | 48.3 km | 55.6 | 30% | 2.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Gaspé’s residents
What is the population of Gaspé?
Gaspé had about 15,479 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 15,063, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Gaspé?
A median age of 50.4, older than 86% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 26%.
Is Gaspé bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 35% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 4.5% speak only English and 61% only French; 87% grew up with French.
How diverse is Gaspé?
2% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.9% belong to a visible minority and 9.9% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Gaspé?
81% are Christian and 18% have no religion; 0.5% follow another religion.
Is Gaspé good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 52% of households. One-parent families: 8.3%. Schools near Gaspé are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Gaspé?
The median household in Gaspé took in $72,000 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).