Photo: Veillg1 · CC BY-SA 4.0In Gatineau, 11% of households are one-parent families, more than in 84% of Canadian towns
Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in Gatineau comes in at 37%. With about 306,105 residents in July 2025, Gatineau counted 126,475 households at the 2021 Census. Residents aged 65 and over account for 16%. Half of the city’s residents are under 40, younger than in 63% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Gatineau
A bilingual city
Both official languages: 65% of residents speak English and French, more than in 97% of Canadian towns. Another 26% speak only French and 8.4% only English. English & French ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
65% of residents speak English and French, more than in 97% 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
6.3% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.7% speak neither official language. Gatineau has fewer residents whose mother tongue is English than 83% of Canadian towns, at 12%. The share of bilingual residents across Canada’s towns is 7.5%.
Since 2016, Gatineau has grown +5%, faster than 58% 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
Across Quebec’s towns the median is +4%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
Children under 15: 18%, a higher share than 71% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 40–44, with 7.1% of residents. As a yardstick, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
More one-person households than 77% of Canadian towns: 35%
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.3 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. On average, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
In Gatineau, 20% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 83% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 32% of adults, against a typical 27%. Across Gatineau, 34% of residents 15 and over are married. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Gatineau ranks above 74% of Canadian towns on renter households: 40%
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
With households in buildings of five or more storeys at 5.5%, Gatineau is ahead of 73% of Canadian towns on that count. Against that, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 31% date from 2001 or later, 13% from before 1961.
The median household brings in $82,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $82,000, the middle household in Gatineau earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Quebec’s towns has $74,000 before tax. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 26% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
In Gatineau, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 69% 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
Recent arrivals are 41% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Africa (37%) or in Asia (23%). As a yardstick, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
31% of residents said they have no religion, below 63% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Indigenous residents: 4.1% here and 2.8% across Canada’s towns. Residents with no religion: 35% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Other faiths: Muslim (5.2%).
Gatineau: 35% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 63% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 12% 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.
A job for 61% of residents aged 15 and over
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
61% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
From a median age of 33 in Du Plateau to 47 in Rivière-Gatineau
The city’s 17 neighbourhoods, youngest first; each links its own page.
Rivière-Gatineau is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Du Plateau the youngest (median age 33). Du Plateau has the largest immigrant share, 27%. Centre-Ville has the most renters: 81% of households.
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Gatineau
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatineau | 306,105 | — | 40 | 16% | 16% |
| Rivière-Gatineau | 14,875 | 0.6 km | 47.3 | 24% | 14% |
| La Cité | 30,930 | 2.9 km | 44.6 | 21% | 15% |
| New Edinburgh | 5,728 | 3.2 km | 50.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Centre-Ville | 12,981 | 3.8 km | 38.9 | 22% | 23% |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 3.9 km | 39.1 | 21% | 29% |
| Mont-Bleu | 21,636 | 3.9 km | 39.9 | 19% | 25% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Quebec’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Gatineau’s residents
What is the average age in Gatineau?
A median age of 40. Children under 15 make up 18%, and people 65 and over 16%.
Is Gatineau bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 65% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 8.4% speak only English and 26% only French; 71% grew up with French.
How diverse is Gatineau?
16% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 19% belong to a visible minority and 4.1% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Gatineau?
63% are Christian and 31% have no religion; 6.6% follow another religion.
Is Gatineau good for families?
Under 15: 18% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 46% of households. One-parent families: 11%. Schools near Gatineau are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Gatineau?
The median household in Gatineau took in $82,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Gatineau?
Gatineau had about 306,105 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 291,041, 5% more than 2016.
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).