Photo: Alain.boucher86 · Public domainSaint-Ferdinand is older than 96% of Canadian towns: a median age of 56
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 6.7%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Saint-Ferdinand is home to some 2,082 people (July 2025 estimate), in 990 households at the 2021 Census. Just over four in five households live in a single-detached house. Residents with no religion are rarer here than in 94% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Saint-Ferdinand
Older than most towns
Saint-Ferdinand’s median age is 56; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 32% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Saint-Ferdinand went from 2,076 people in 2016 to 2,007 in 2021, −3%: slower growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 28% of adults, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, while 38% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A larger share of bilingual residents than 75% of Canadian towns: 21%
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: 1% here and 66% across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Saint-Ferdinand changed by −3% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 93% of Canadian towns
Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 4%.
In Saint-Ferdinand, 32% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Set against 16% across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents are under 15 in Saint-Ferdinand. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women.
Saint-Ferdinand households average 2 people, smaller than in 90% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The figure for one-parent families is 4.5% in Saint-Ferdinand and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 35% here.
Above 91% of Canadian towns: 28% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: just over a fifth of adults (typical: 27%). At 38%, the share of married residents 15 and over is lower than in 72% of Canadian towns. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of renter households than 67% of Canadian towns, at 18%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, renter households come to 25%. Older homes outnumber new: 31% predate 1961, 21% date from 2001 or later.
$66,000 a year: where the middle household sits
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Saint-Ferdinand had $66,000 before tax, 23% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Quebec’s towns, half of households had more than $74,000 before tax. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 23% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
9.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 66% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
0.8% of residents are immigrants, against 17% across Canada’s towns. What’s more, residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
85% said they are Christian and 15% that they have no religion
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. Indigenous residents are rarer here than in 98% of Canadian towns.
In Saint-Ferdinand, 10% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 95% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 17%, beside a typical 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
52% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. 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: 52%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 32% of residents are 65 or over.
Saint-Ferdinand is older than every town around it
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Ferdinand | 2,082 | — | 56 | 32% | 0.8% |
| Plessisville | 2,718 | 17.4 km | 43.6 | 20% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska | 1,291 | 19.1 km | 40.4 | 18% | 1.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Provincial and national yardsticks: Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- 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 Saint-Ferdinand’s residents
What is the median income in Saint-Ferdinand?
The median household in Saint-Ferdinand took in $66,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Saint-Ferdinand?
Saint-Ferdinand had about 2,082 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 2,007, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Saint-Ferdinand?
A median age of 56. Children under 15 make up 12%, and people 65 and over 32%.
Is Saint-Ferdinand bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 21% are. Another 79% speak only French and 0.3% only English, and French is the first language of 98%.
How diverse is Saint-Ferdinand?
0.8% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 0% belong to a visible minority and 0% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Saint-Ferdinand?
85% are Christian and 15% have no religion; 0.5% follow another religion.
Is Saint-Ferdinand good for families?
Under 15: 12% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 57% of households. One-parent families: 4.5%. Schools near Saint-Ferdinand 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).