Photo: CanadianPhotographer · CC0A larger share of renter households than 92% of Canadian towns: 64%
Across Canada’s towns, 17% of residents are immigrants; in Montréal, 33%. Its population is up 3% on 2016. The census found that 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in the city. More visible minority residents than in 77% of Canadian towns: 39%.
What stands out about the people of Montréal
A bilingual city
Both official languages: 59% of residents speak English and French, more than in 94% of Canadian towns. Another 27% speak only French and 12% only English. English & French ↓
A city of renters
64% of households rent their home, more than in 92% of Canadian towns; 86% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Many people living alone
42% of households are one person living alone, more than in 91% of Canadian towns; 17% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Montréal sits above 94% of Canadian towns for bilingual residents (59%)
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
With residents whose mother tongue is English at 13%, Montréal is behind 83% of Canadian towns on that count. On average, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. At home: French 52%, English 20%.
From 2016 to 2021, 54% of Canadian towns grew faster than Montréal: +3%
Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 9%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Quebec’s towns +4%.
Half of Montréal is under 38.8, younger than 71% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Where 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns, Montréal has 17%. Across Montréal, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
In Montréal, 42% of households are one person living alone, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families tops 67% of Canadian towns: 9.4%. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone. There are 2.1 people in the average household.
Married residents 15 and over make up 32% in Montréal, less 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
The share of common-law partners tops 78% of Canadian towns: 15%. Single and never married: 38% of adults, against a typical 27%.
A smaller share of households in single-detached houses than 94% of Canadian towns: 7.1%
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
The share of households in buildings of five or more storeys tops 84% of Canadian towns: 16%. The comparison figure for households in single-detached houses is 64% across Canada’s towns.
A median household income of $63,600 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Montréal: half had less than $63,600, 26% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $74,000 is the median household income across Quebec’s towns. COVID-19 benefits went to 34% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
17% of residents are not Canadian citizens, more than in 87% 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 40%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Recent arrivals are 34% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, residents without Canadian citizenship come to 5.8%. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (30%), then in Africa (24%).
31% of residents said they have no religion, below 63% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (13%) and Jewish (2.1%). By way of comparison, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, Indigenous residents are scarce here: 0.9%, fewer than in 83% of Canadian towns.
44% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 78% of Canadian towns don’t reach
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
10% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
Employment: 59% of residents 15 and over had a job
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
59% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
From a median age of 30 in Milton-Parc to 47 in Ile-des-Soeurs
The city’s 77 neighbourhoods, youngest first; each links its own page.
Ile-des-Soeurs is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Milton-Parc the youngest (median age 30). Chameran/Montpellier has the largest immigrant share, 64%. Renting is most common in Milton-Parc, where 91% of households rent.
No nearby town is as old as Montréal
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montréal | 1,915,366 | — | 38.8 | 17% | 33% |
| Saint-Édouard | 16,771 | 0.7 km | 35.1 | 11% | 22% |
| Parc-Jarry | 15,699 | 1.1 km | 36.6 | 12% | 20% |
| Parc-Extension | 29,066 | 1.2 km | 36.9 | 15% | 45% |
| Crémazie | 29,907 | 1.4 km | 34.9 | 12% | 26% |
| Père-Marquette | 19,702 | 1.5 km | 35.6 | 12% | 20% |
| Outremont | 24,629 | 1.7 km | 37.4 | 20% | 24% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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. Each comparison is its own median: over Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Montréal’s residents
What is the median income in Montréal?
The median household in Montréal took in $63,600 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Montréal?
Montréal had about 1,915,366 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,762,949, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Montréal?
A median age of 38.8. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 17%.
Is Montréal bilingual?
English and French: 59% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 12%. French only: 27%. French mother tongue: 47%.
How diverse is Montréal?
33% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 39% belong to a visible minority and 0.9% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Montréal?
50% are Christian and 31% have no religion; 20% follow another religion.
Is Montréal good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 39% of households. One-parent families: 9.4%. Schools near Montréal 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).