Photo: Simon Villeneuve · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 53.6: Lac-Mégantic is older than 92% of Canadian towns
The average household has 1.9 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. About 5,947 people lived in Lac-Mégantic in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Here, 46% of households rent their home. Immigrants are rarer here than in 94% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Lac-Mégantic
Older than most towns
Lac-Mégantic’s median age is 53.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 33% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
47% of households are one person living alone, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 33% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Lac-Mégantic: 26% of residents speak English and French, above 78% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. 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
Residents whose mother tongue is English make up 1.3%, against 66% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%.
A change of +2% since 2016 leaves Lac-Mégantic behind 67% 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
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Quebec’s towns, +4%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 3% higher again.
Lac-Mégantic ranks above 96% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 33%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Lac-Mégantic, 13%. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Lac-Mégantic, 53.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Lac-Mégantic, 47% of households are one person living alone, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
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.
Across Lac-Mégantic, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families. For one-person households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 27%.
Common-law partners make up 21% in Lac-Mégantic, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Here 31% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 46%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
Lac-Mégantic sits below 70% of Canadian towns for households in single-detached houses (49%)
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 38% predate 1961, 23% date from 2001 or later.
Before tax, the median household income is $50,800 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Lac-Mégantic had $50,800 before tax, 41% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Quebec’s towns, the household in the middle had $74,000. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 25% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 14% in Lac-Mégantic, more than in 74% of Canadian towns
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
29% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. The share of residents without Canadian citizenship stands at 2.3%. For comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 89% of Canadian towns: 19%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents make up 2.2%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. As a yardstick, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents: 2.6% of the total.
17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, below 75% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
15% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). To put it in context, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
50% of residents 15 and over were in work
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 50%; 33% of residents are 65 or over.
41 towns of 5,819 to 6,079 people: this is the 4th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The group spans University, youngest at 31.1, to Nutana Urban Centre, oldest at 62. In age, Lac-Mégantic keeps company with Crowsnest Pass (52.8), Cumberland County, Subdivision C (52.8), Mile 108 Recreational Ranch (56.8) and Creston (57.6).
No nearby town is as old as Lac-Mégantic
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac-Mégantic | 5,947 | — | 53.6 | 33% | 1.9% |
| Nantes | 1,412 | 4.5 km | 46 | 19% | 1.4% |
| Frontenac | 1,855 | 4.7 km | 46 | 23% | 1.1% |
| Lac-Drolet | 1,066 | 18.3 km | 53.6 | 27% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Lac-Mégantic’s residents
What is the median income in Lac-Mégantic?
$50,800 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Lac-Mégantic (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Lac-Mégantic?
Statistics Canada estimates 5,947 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 5,747 in Lac-Mégantic, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Lac-Mégantic?
53.6 is the median age, older than 92% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 33%.
Is Lac-Mégantic bilingual?
English and French: 26% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 0.3%. French only: 74%. French mother tongue: 96%.
How diverse is Lac-Mégantic?
Immigrants make up 1.9% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 2.2% are members of a visible minority, and 2.6% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Lac-Mégantic?
Christian: 81%. No religion: 19%. Another religion: 0.8%.
Is Lac-Mégantic good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 42% of households are couple families and 8.5% one-parent families. Schools near Lac-Mégantic are on its Schools page.
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).