Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 97% of Canadian towns: half of Percé is over 57.6
Set against 11% across Canada’s towns, 6.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Percé. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 3,137 residents; the 2021 Census found 1,550 households. On the census count, 17% of residents said they have no religion. 6.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 94% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Percé
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 13% of residents, more than in 92% of Canadian towns, and 2.1% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Percé’s residents are under 57.6 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 34% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 41%, more than in 90% of Canadian towns, and 34% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Percé: 31% of residents speak English and French, above 81% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. 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
The share of residents whose mother tongue is English is 21%, against 66% across Canada’s towns. On average, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Percé changed by ±0% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 79% of Canadian towns
Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +4% across Quebec’s towns. The July 2025 estimate adds another 1%.
34% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 97% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
60–64 is the most common age band: just over one in ten residents, 1.7 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 19% of residents are 65 or over. For Percé, the census puts children under 15 at 9.9%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Percé, 57.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women.
Percé: 41% of households are one person living alone, above 90% 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.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 9.4% of households are one-parent families in Percé. The share of one-person households across Canada’s towns is 27%.
Common-law partners make up 24% in Percé, more than in 87% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Set against 46% across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 15 and over are married in Percé. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
A larger share of households in single-detached houses than 92% of Canadian towns: 92%
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
Renter households: 21%, below just over three fifths of Canadian towns. 44% of homes were built before 1961 and 9.4% in 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.
$56,400 a year: the median household income
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $56,400, the middle household in Percé earned 34% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Quebec’s towns the median is $74,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 28% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
1.6% of residents are immigrants
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
Across Canada’s towns, 17% of residents are immigrants; in Percé, 1.6%. On the census count, 0.3% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
13% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 92% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 0.7% in Percé. As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
Fewer degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 91% of Canadian towns: 12%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 31% here, 9.5% in the typical town. The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 40% of residents 15 and over had a job
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
40% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 34% are 65 or more.
41 towns of 3,086 to 3,188 people: this is the 4th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Valhalla is the oldest at 66, La Loche the youngest at 25.6. In age, Percé keeps company with Paspébiac (56.4), Welcome Beach (56.4), French River / Rivière des Français (58) and Trois-Pistoles (59.6).
Every neighbour of Percé has a younger population
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. No closer places have figures: these lie 17–30 km from Percé.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percé | 3,137 | — | 57.6 | 34% | 1.6% |
| Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé | 1,009 | 17.3 km | 56.4 | 31% | 0% |
| Grande-Rivière | 3,318 | 23.7 km | 55.6 | 30% | 2.2% |
| Gaspé | 15,479 | 29.7 km | 50.4 | 26% | 2% |
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. 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.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Percé’s residents
What is the median income in Percé?
$56,400 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Percé (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Percé?
Statistics Canada estimates 3,137 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 3,095 in Percé, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Percé?
57.6 is the median age, older than 97% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 9.9%. 65 and over: 34%.
Is Percé bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 31% are. Another 56% speak only French and 14% only English, and French is the first language of 77%.
How diverse is Percé?
Immigrants make up 1.6% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 0.7% are members of a visible minority, and 13% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Percé?
Christian: 83%. No religion: 17%. Another religion: 0%.
Is Percé good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 9.9%. 42% of households are couple families and 9.4% one-parent families. Schools near Percé 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).