Photo: Minoumi · CC BY 3.0A median age of 52.4: Matane is older than 91% of Canadian towns
The average household has 1.9 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. About 14,180 people lived in Matane in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Renter households: 40% of the total. Children under 15 are rarer here than in 85% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Matane
Older than most towns
Line Matane’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 52.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 30% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Matane went from 14,311 to 13,987 residents (−2%), slower growth than in 90% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 42%, more than in 92% of Canadian towns, and 30% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Common-law couples
27% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 90% of Canadian towns; 28% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bilingual residents make up 20% in Matane, more than in 74% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. 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
Residents whose mother tongue is English make up 0.5%, against 66% across Canada’s towns. At home: French 99%, English 0.2%. For bilingual residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 7.5%.
Matane’s population moved −2% on 2016, less than in 90% of Canadian towns
Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Quebec’s towns, +4%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 1% higher again.
Matane sits above 92% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (30%)
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, against 10% in Matane. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Matane, 52.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
One-person households: 42%, a higher share than 92% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
On the census count, 7.8% of households are one-parent families. Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households is 27%.
A larger share of common-law partners than 90% of Canadian towns: 27%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Married residents 15 and over: 28%, below 93% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
Households in single-detached houses: 56%, a lower share than 60% of Canadian towns
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
Older homes outnumber new: 29% predate 1961, 8% date from 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
The midpoint household income is $56,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $56,000, the middle household in Matane earned 35% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Quebec’s towns, the median household income is $74,000. Pandemic benefits reached 21% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
In Matane, 9.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 63% 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 a third of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Across Matane, 1.2% of residents are immigrants. On residents without Canadian citizenship, Matane sits lower than 72% of Canadian towns: 2.3%. Against that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 19%, a lower share than 88% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
1.6% of residents belong to a visible minority and 2% have an Indigenous identity, against 15% and 2.8% across Canada’s towns. By way of comparison, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents are rarer here than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns.
Matane ranks below 76% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 17%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
An employment rate of 50%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 50% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 30% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (13,913 to 14,473 people), the 2nd oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
River West is the youngest of them at 30.6; Tiny, at 55.2, the oldest. By median age, Matane sits among South Glengarry (50.4), Sillery (51) and Tiny (55.2).
Median age: 1 of the 2 towns around Matane are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matane | 14,180 | — | 52.4 | 30% | 1.2% |
| Sainte-Félicité | 1,053 | 14.3 km | 52.4 | 29% | 0% |
| Saint-Ulric | 1,658 | 14.5 km | 55.6 | 29% | 2.6% |
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. 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.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
Questions about Matane’s residents
What is the population of Matane?
Matane had about 14,180 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 13,987, 2% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Matane?
A median age of 52.4, older than 91% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 12%, and people 65 and over 30%.
Is Matane bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 20% are. Another 80% speak only French and 0% only English, and French is the first language of 99%.
How diverse is Matane?
1.2% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.6% belong to a visible minority and 2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Matane?
81% are Christian and 19% have no religion; 0.5% follow another religion.
Is Matane good for families?
Under 15: 12% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 46% of households. One-parent families: 7.8%. Schools near Matane are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Matane?
The median household in Matane took in $56,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).