Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.098% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
A First Nations reserve, Pessamit is home to Bande des Innus de Pessamit. 30% of households are one-parent families, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns. The 2021 Census found 820 households in Pessamit; by July 2025 the population was about 2,523. For Pessamit, the census puts renter households at 8.5%. On residents aged 15 to 24, Pessamit sits higher than 89% of Canadian towns: 14%.
What stands out about the people of Pessamit
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 98% of residents, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. 96% are Registered or Treaty Indians and 86% grew up speaking an Indigenous language. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Pessamit’s residents are under 34.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are under 15 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
In Pessamit, 11% of residents speak English and French, more than in 64% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is English are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. An Indigenous language is the mother tongue of 86%. Bilingual residents: 7.5% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Pessamit grew +8% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 71% of Canadian towns
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 4%.
Pessamit is younger than 92% of Canadian towns: a median age of 34.4
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The figure for children under 15 is 24% in Pessamit and 16% across Canada’s towns. Still, the community has fewer residents aged 65 and over than 90% of Canadian towns, at 11%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Pessamit, 34.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women.
Bigger households than 87% of Canadian towns: 2.9 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone; in Pessamit, 21%.
14% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 99% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The share of common-law partners tops 78% of Canadian towns: 15%. 59% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%.
A higher share of households in single-detached houses than 91% of Canadian towns, at 92%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
20% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. For households in single-detached houses, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 64%. Newer homes outnumber old: 31% date from 2001 or later, 10% from before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
Household income, middle of the range: $62,400 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Pessamit: half had less than $62,400, 27% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Quebec’s towns, the household in the middle had $74,000. 47% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
Pessamit ranks below 97% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 11%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Pessamit sits below 99% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (6.9%)
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
37% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
41% of residents 15 and over were in work
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 41%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 11% of residents are 65 or over.
Pessamit is younger than every town around it
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Pessamit has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 21–27 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pessamit | 2,523 | — | 34.4 | 11% | 0% |
| Ragueneau | 1,287 | 21.5 km | 53.6 | 28% | 1.5% |
| Pointe-aux-Outardes | 1,447 | 27.2 km | 47.6 | 20% | 1.1% |
| Chute-aux-Outardes | 1,406 | 27.4 km | 52.8 | 25% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- A First Nations reserve. Reserves are compared with Canada’s towns but aren’t counted among them: they have no overall grade and no place in ranked lists. Census figures for small reserves are rounded, and some are suppressed.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Pessamit’s residents
What religion are people in Pessamit?
Christian: 87%. No religion: 11%. Another religion: 2.7%.
Is Pessamit good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 24%. 24% of households are couple families and 30% one-parent families. Schools near Pessamit are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Pessamit?
$62,400 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Pessamit (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Pessamit?
Statistics Canada estimates 2,523 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 2,428 in Pessamit, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Pessamit?
34.4 is the median age, younger than 92% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 24%. 65 and over: 11%.
Is Pessamit bilingual?
English and French: 11% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 0.2%. French only: 86%. French mother tongue: 9.8%.
How diverse is Pessamit?
In Pessamit, 98% have an Indigenous identity and 0% belong to a visible minority; its immigration figures are suppressed.
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).