LowQuebec
Its census division is La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau. In Quebec, this town has 1,064 residents.
Is Low a good place to live?
Low’s weakest subject is jobs & income (D). It also trails on walkability (D). Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for cost of living and B− for health. Crime runs high (C).
Low is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the Sûreté du Québec unit's figure for the whole MRC. Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but many visitors or second-home owners add to it, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents' own risk. 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 Low grades
Each subject compares Low with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Low is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Low stand out
The 3 things Low does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Low.
Commuters in Low travel further than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns, 45 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Low | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 45 min | 27 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
Low faces more hazards than 85% of Canadian towns
The national inventory holds one flood map for it, from Gouvernement du Québec. Little of the land around Low has burned: 0.1% within 25 km since 1986, or 0.001% a year. More homes than usual carry radon here, 13% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Figures for radon tests are published for the Outaouais health region as a whole, not for Low alone.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Low | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 13% | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.099 | $0.14 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Violent crime weighs more where Low is policed than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 152
Measured across Vallée-de-la-Gatineau MRC: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000
The index for the force that serves it came to 91, above Quebec’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67) alike. Violent crime in the area its police cover: 27.4 per 1,000 people a year. For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 20.8 property crimes are reported each year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Low | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 27.4 | 12.4 | 12 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 152 | 88 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 91 | 56 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 20.8 | 16.6 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
More people in Low speak English and French than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: 60%
People 65 and over make up just over a quarter of the town. Children under 15 make up 12%, lower than both Quebec’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (16%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 49.5% of Low
Of the 2021 count, 505 were women and 515 men (women across Canada: 50.9%).
| Low | Quebec | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 63% | 62% | 64% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 21% | 19% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 42% | 59% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Quebec and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
More of the land around Low is protected than around nearly 9 in 10 Canadian towns
3 beaches are mapped within 5 km, none with a name. 2.7 km out lies the largest, Proposed Mont-Sainte-Marie Biodiversity Reserve, at 13,679 ha. Within 10 km are 19 protected areas. There is no national park within 100 km of the town.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Low | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 11% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 17 | 10 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Winter nights bite in Low: January lows of −16.0°C, colder than Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns
The most precipitation falls in June: 99 mm in a normal year. Between the last spring frost, 20 May, and the first in autumn, 22 September, lie 124 days. Summer highs average 26.9°C in July, near Quebec’s towns (26.5°C) and higher than Canadian towns (25.5°C). A normal January brings 53 cm of snow, the most of any month.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Low | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 26.9°C | 26.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Snowfall a year | 193 cm | 217 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −16.0°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 170 | 161 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Luskville)
One school serves Low: École secondaire Saint-Michael
Measured from the centre, the closest high school lies 6.9 km off, above both Quebec’s towns (1.2 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km). An elementary school stands 17 km from the centre, above both Quebec’s towns (0.5 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| École secondaire Saint-Michael EnglishIn LowSecondary | Secondary | – | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Low | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest elementary school | 17 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
| Nearest secondary school | 6.9 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025-26 · The schools grade is given only where results are open; in Quebec, the ministry publishes its success rates by school service centre, not school by school.
Expect November days around 6°C in Low, nights around −3°C
In November, the normal is 74 mm of rain and snow. By December, a normal day reaches −2°C and a night falls to −11°C. For today and the week ahead, the Weather page carries ECCC’s Val-des-Monts forecast.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −3°C | −14°C | 215 mm |
| Spring | 11°C | −1°C | 216 mm |
| Summer | 26°C | 13°C | 292 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 3°C | 246 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Luskville); the forecast is on the Weather page
Low has a council seat for every 150 residents, fewer than 96% of municipalities in Quebec
Patrick Beaudry leads Low as mayor, alongside 6 councillors.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Low has no public library of its own; the nearest is Bibliotheque Rupert, 13 km away
The next is Bibliotheque Municipale de Kazabazua (Kazabazua), 16 km away.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Most households in Low own their home: 87%, more than in both Quebec’s towns and Canadian towns
5% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, below Quebec’s towns (13%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike. A year’s rent came to 20% of the median household income, about level with Canadian towns (20%) and above Quebec’s towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Low | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 5% | 13% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 87% | 70% | 74% |
| Rent as a share of income | 20% | 18% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · The 2021 census asked owners what their home was worth; those values, and 2020 incomes, are what this compares.
17% of adults smoke in the health region around Low, against 12% for the typical Canadian town
Life expectancy at birth in the region is 80.7 years, below Quebec’s towns (82.5) and Canadian towns (81.5) alike. Self-rated health is ordinary for Quebec: 55% of the region’s adults say very good or excellent, the province 57%. Measured from where Low’s residents live, the nearest hospital is 20 km away, beyond the typical 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Low | 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 · Data for health survey and life expectancy covers the Région de l'Outaouais
Everything we know about Low
Famous people from around Low
One notable person was born in Low; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Photo credits
James Reid: William James Topley, Public domain
About Low
Town in Quebec
For Low, TownRatings uses Statistics Canada’s census-subdivision boundary in Quebec, and every figure on its pages covers that whole area.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,064 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Quebec
- Census division
- La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau
- Census subdivision
- 2483010
Low’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
Questions about Low
Do people in Low speak French?
Almost everyone does. 60% are bilingual, where the median of Canadian towns is 8%, and 8.8% speak French and no English.
Who are the people of Low?
1% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 6% have an Indigenous identity and 4% are immigrants.
What kind of homes are in Low?
Single-detached houses make up 92% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 34% of households are one person, and the average is 2.1.
Is Low growing?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it went from 982 to 1,020 residents (up 3.9%; Canadian towns’ median: 4.1%), and Statistics Canada now estimates 1,064.
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).