Photo: Laval_City_Hall.JPG : Jean-Philippe Boulet derivative work: MTLskyline · CC BY 3.0In Laval, 18% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 90% of Canadian towns
45% of households live in a single-detached house; across Canada’s towns the figure is 64%. Few places have so few residents who moved in within the year: 8.7% here, fewer than in just over three quarters of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 461,509 residents; the 2021 Census found 169,785 households. One-parent families account for 10%.
What stands out about the people of Laval
A bilingual city
60% of residents can hold a conversation in both English and French, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 32% speak French only and 5.8% English only. English & French ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bilingual residents make up 60% in Laval, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: French 59%, English 15%. Compared with other places, residents whose mother tongue is English are scarce here: 7.9%, fewer than in 85% of Canadian towns. On average, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Since 2016, Laval has changed by +4%, slower than 53% of Canadian towns
How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 5%.
A median age of 42.8: Laval is older than 54% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 12% here and 11% across Canada’s towns. The highest share aged 65 or over among Quebec’s towns is Centre’s: 46%. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.4% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
2.5 people per household, more than in 58% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
On the census count, 28% of households are one person living alone.
A larger share of common-law partners than 74% of Canadian towns: 14%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Married residents 15 and over make up 42%, against 46% across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Laval ranks above 79% of Canadian towns on households in buildings of five or more storeys: 9.8%
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
Against a figure of 25% across Canada’s towns, the share of renter households in Laval comes in at 33%.
Half above, half below $85,000 a year in household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $85,000, the middle household in Laval earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Quebec’s towns is $74,000. COVID-19 benefits went to 34% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Immigrants make up 32% in Laval, more than in 74% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 40%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most immigrants were born in Asia (35%) or in Africa (23%). Across the comparison, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Of the immigrants living here, 25% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Visible minority residents: 33%, a higher share than 71% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (13%). Compared with other places, Indigenous residents are scarce here: 0.8%, fewer than in 85% of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns.
Above 59% of Canadian towns: 32% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 11% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 60% of residents aged 15 and over
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 60%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
From a median age of 40 in Le Boisé Champêtre to 46 in Chomedey
The city’s 13 neighbourhoods, youngest first; each links its own page.
Chomedey is the oldest area, with 26% aged 65 or over; Le Boisé Champêtre the youngest (median age 40). Chomedey has the largest immigrant share, 43%. Renting is most common in Laval-des-Rapides, where 59% of households rent.
Older than Laval: 2 of the 6 towns nearby
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laval | 461,509 | — | 42.8 | 19% | 32% |
| Laval-des-Rapides | 41,971 | 2.9 km | 40.6 | 20% | 35% |
| Chomedey | 81,813 | 3.0 km | 46.2 | 26% | 43% |
| Le Boisé Champêtre | 37,891 | 3.4 km | 40.1 | 14% | 40% |
| Pont-Viau | 14,608 | 3.8 km | 42.7 | 22% | 29% |
| Vimont | 31,166 | 4.1 km | 46.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Sainte-Rose | 37,408 | 4.9 km | 41.2 | 14% | 25% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. 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 Laval’s residents
What is the population of Laval?
Statistics Canada estimates 461,509 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 438,366 in Laval, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Laval?
42.8 is the median age. Under 15: 17%. 65 and over: 19%.
Is Laval bilingual?
60% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 32% speak French only and 5.8% English only. French is the mother tongue of 52%.
How diverse is Laval?
Immigrants make up 32% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 33% are members of a visible minority, and 0.8% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Laval?
Christian: 65%. No religion: 18%. Another religion: 17%.
Is Laval good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 17%. 54% of households are couple families and 10% one-parent families. Schools near Laval are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Laval?
$85,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Laval (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
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).