Des ValléesGatineau
3,575 people call this neighbourhood in Gatineau home. It is one of 17 neighbourhoods of Gatineau.
Is Des Vallées a good place to live?
Strong in places, weak in others. It does especially well on cost of living (A−). Work and incomes are strong (A). The trade-off is hazard risk (D). Walkability is weaker too (C+). All told, that adds up to an A− overall and a rank of #209 of 499 in Quebec. That leaves it better than 78% of Canadian towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for safety and B for health.
Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in it. Safety less sure: this is the whole city's figure, because the city doesn't publish open neighbourhood crime rates. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Des Vallées grades
Each subject compares Des Vallées with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Des Vallées stand out
The 3 things Des Vallées does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Des Vallées.
Hazard risk in Des Vallées is higher than in 88% of Canadian towns
The radon tests numbers here cover the Outaouais health region
Radon is higher than usual: 13% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Seismic risk runs high: $0.12 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. No one has filed a flood map for Des Vallées on the national inventory.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 13% | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.12 | $0.14 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Not measured by town: earthquake risk (the city of Gatineau)
Des Vallées ranks among the highest-earning Canadian towns by household income
Commutes averaged 27 min, close to both Quebec’s towns (27 min) and Canadian towns (26 min). Nine in ten commuters drove, close to both Quebec’s towns (90%) and Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 27 min | 27 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 90% | 90% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
Most households in Des Vallées own their home: 94%, more than in Quebec’s towns and across Canadian towns
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 12% of households, lower than both Quebec’s towns (13%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 94% | 70% | 74% |
| Rent as a share of income | 13% | 18% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 12% | 13% | 18% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020. · Rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom published for the Ottawa-Gatineau metro area, not by town
Smoking runs high around Des Vallées: 17% of adults, the typical Canadian town 12%
Across the region, life runs to 80.7 years on average: women 82.2, men 79.1, in 2022/2024. On average 15% of adults live with arthritis, diabetes or high blood pressure, about level with Quebec’s towns (15%) and below Canadian towns (17%). The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 55%; Quebec as a whole is at 57%. The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of Des Vallées live 4.8 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 80.7 | 82.5 | 81.5 |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 55% | 56% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Area behind the health survey and life expectancy figures: the Région de l'Outaouais
Winter nights in Des Vallées are colder than in 78% of Canadian towns
A normal June brings 95 mm of precipitation, more than any other month. Gardeners get 119 frost-free days, from 26 May to 22 September. The thermometer drops below freezing on 179 days a year, above both Quebec’s towns (161) and Canadian towns (159). Most of the snow comes in January, about 45 cm.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days with frost a year | 179 | 161 | 159 |
| Snowfall a year | 185 cm | 217 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −16.5°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 26.2°C | 26.5°C | 25.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Angers)
More people in Des Vallées speak English and French than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: 64%
4.3% of residents have an Indigenous identity, above both Quebec’s towns (1.5%) and Canadian towns (2.8%). Visible minorities make up 5.2% of the population, higher than Quebec’s towns (3.5%) yet lower than Canadian towns (15%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
49.1% of Des Vallées’ residents are women
1,755 women and 1,820 men at the 2021 census; across Canada, women are 50.9%.
| Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 68% | 62% | 64% |
| 65+ | 13% | 20% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 19% | 19% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 58% | 59% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Quebec and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
What November brings in Des Vallées: −4°C at night, 5°C by day
The month after, December, normally sees −2°C afternoons and −11°C nights. November usually brings some 16 cm of snow. Precipitation in November averages 72 mm. ECCC’s forecast for Gatineau is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −4°C | −14°C | 191 mm |
| Spring | 11°C | −1°C | 223 mm |
| Summer | 25°C | 12°C | 275 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 2°C | 249 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Angers); the forecast is on the Weather page
Each seat on Gatineau’s council stands for 15,310 residents, more than in 99% of Quebec municipalities
Des Vallées sends one MP to Ottawa from Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, its riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP): Stéphane Lauzon (Liberal Party of Canada).
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
At 8.4 visits per person served, Gatineau public library is busier than 89% of Quebec’s town libraries
Gatineau public library serves the whole of Gatineau, so the library figures on this page are the city’s: 302,616 people, Des Vallées among them.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
For safety, Des Vallées gets a B−
Shared with the rest of the Gatineau service area: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000
Violent incidents in its police area came to 14.9 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Quebec’s towns (12.4) and Canadian towns (12). Its police area records 20.9 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 20.9 | 16.6 | 31.2 |
| Violent crime | 14.9 | 12.4 | 12 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 100 | 88 | 86 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
19 schools serve Des Vallées, 17 elementary schools and 2 schools for every grade
Of the 19, one teaches in English (10% of schools in Quebec). Secondary school means a trip of 3.3 km at the nearest, above both Quebec’s towns (1.2 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| École de l'EscaladeNearest elementary school, 0.6 kmElementary | Elementary | – | French public |
| École Polyvalente Nicolas-GatineauNearest secondary school, 1.4 kmAll grades | All grades | – | French public |
| École primaire Greater Gatineau EnglishTeaches in EnglishElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Nearest elementary school | 2.6 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
| Nearest secondary school | 3.3 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025-26 · Source note: the ministry publishes its success rates by school service centre, not school by school, so there’s no schools grade in Quebec.
From Des Vallées, Plaisance National Park (Québec) is the nearest provincial park (30 km)
Public parks and reserves within 10 km: 17, above Quebec’s towns (10) and Canadian towns (4) alike. National parks are all over 100 km off. Within 10 km of the town, 3.9% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town. Biggest among them: Marais des Laiches (section) Water Fowl Gathering Area, 150 ha, 5.1 km off.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Des Vallées | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 17 | 10 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 3.9% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Des Vallées
Vintage Wings of Canada and 12 more within 40 km
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Des Vallées; with it, the best known within 40 km.
MuseumVintage Wings of Canada3.8 km outside town, to the east
Art galleryNational Gallery of Canada12 km south · 237K visitors a year (2014)
Big drawMuseumCanadian Museum of History12 km south · 1.3M visitors a year
MuseumCarleton University16 km south
MuseumCanadian Museum of Nature14 km south
MuseumCanada Science and Technology Museum14 km south · 348K visitors a yearPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (6)
- Vintage Wings of Canada: Armchair Aviator's, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery of Canada: Wladyslaw [Disk.], CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Canadian Museum of History: Wojciech Dittwald, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carleton University: Harleyd613, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Canadian Museum of Nature: RealGrouchy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Canada Science and Technology Museum: Ajadams94, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Famous people from around Des Vallées
No notable person born in Des Vallées is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Photo credits
Denis Savard: Unknown author, Public domain
About Des Vallées
Neighbourhood in Gatineau
Where Des Vallées begins and ends inside Gatineau is TownRatings’s line, traced along census dissemination areas and named after the city’s map or OpenStreetMap.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 3,575 (people, 2021 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Quebec
- City
- Gatineau
- Census subdivision
- 2481017
Des Vallées’ neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Vallées | 3,575 | — | A− | A− | B− | B |
| Du Moulin | 30,364 | 3.9 | C | C− | B− | B+ |
| Rivière-Blanche | 23,089 | 5.3 | B | B− | B− | B |
| La Cité | 30,930 | 5.8 | B− | C− | B− | B+ |
| Les Rapides | 15,090 | 8.1 | A− | A− | B− | B |
| Rivière-Gatineau | 14,875 | 8.3 | C− | D | B− | B+ |
| Manor Park Ontario | 9,491 | 8.7 | B+ | D | A | A+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Des Vallées
Do people in Des Vallées speak French?
Yes: this is Quebec. 33.6% of residents speak only French and 64% speak both French and English (Canadian towns’ median: 8%).
Is Des Vallées a young town or an old one?
The median resident is 41.1 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 19% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).