Photo: Miguel Tremblay · CC0A median age of 60.8: Saint-Zénon is older than 99% of Canadian towns
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 5.3%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Across Saint-Zénon, 92% of households live in a single-detached house. Fewer visible minority residents than in 86% of Canadian towns: 1.9%. With about 1,435 residents in July 2025, Saint-Zénon counted 720 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Saint-Zénon
Older than most towns
Line Saint-Zénon’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 60.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Saint-Zénon went from 1,120 to 1,317 residents (+18%), faster growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 42%, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, and 36% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
28% of residents speak English and French, more than in 79% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
With residents whose mother tongue is English at 1.5%, Saint-Zénon is behind 93% of Canadian towns on that count. To put it in context, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
+18% since 2016, a pace 94% of Canadian towns didn’t match
The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 9% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Quebec’s towns, +4%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 98% of Canadian towns: 36%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Children under 15 make up 6.8%, against 16% across Canada’s towns. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 80 women for every 100 men.
Households here average 1.8 people, below 96% 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 figure for one-parent families is 4.2% in Saint-Zénon and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. Higher than in 91% of Canadian towns: 42% of households are one person living alone.
More common-law partners than 85% of Canadian towns: 22%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a quarter of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Married residents 15 and over account for 39%. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
In Saint-Zénon, 17% of households rent their home, fewer than in 70% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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. The comparison figure for renter households is 25% across Canada’s towns.
The middle household earns $52,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Saint-Zénon’s median household took in $52,000 before tax, 40% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Quebec’s towns have a median of $74,000. 27% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
A larger share of residents who moved in within the year than 73% of Canadian towns: 14%
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. The share of immigrants stands at 5.2%. Set beside that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Saint-Zénon sits below 88% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (19%)
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The census found that 2.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity in Saint-Zénon. On religion, 81% answered Christian and 19% no religion, against 54% and 35% across Canada’s towns.
Only 9.8% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Saint-Zénon
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 21%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 43% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
43% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 36% are 65 or more.
Every nearby town is younger than Saint-Zénon
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Distances here run 13–39 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Saint-Zénon.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Zénon | 1,435 | — | 60.8 | 36% | 5.2% |
| Saint-Michel-des-Saints | 2,841 | 13.3 km | 58.8 | 32% | 2.5% |
| Saint-Côme | 2,810 | 32.8 km | 57.6 | 30% | 2.3% |
| Sainte-Émélie-de-l'Énergie | 1,856 | 33.7 km | 54 | 27% | 1.7% |
| Saint-Damien | 2,569 | 34.6 km | 57.2 | 31% | 3.6% |
| Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci | 1,154 | 39.1 km | 60.4 | 36% | 5% |
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.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past 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 Saint-Zénon’s residents
What is the average age in Saint-Zénon?
60.8 is the median age. Under 15: 6.8%. 65 and over: 36%.
Is Saint-Zénon bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 28% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 0.8% speak only English and 72% only French; 94% grew up with French.
How diverse is Saint-Zénon?
Immigrants make up 5.2% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 1.9% are members of a visible minority, and 2.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Saint-Zénon?
Christian: 81%. No religion: 19%. Another religion: 0.4%.
Is Saint-Zénon good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 6.8%. 50% of households are couple families and 4.2% one-parent families. Schools near Saint-Zénon are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Saint-Zénon?
$52,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Saint-Zénon (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Saint-Zénon?
Statistics Canada estimates 1,435 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 1,317 in Saint-Zénon, 18% more than 2016.
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).