Photo: ipatboy (Patrick) · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 90% of Canadian towns: half of Sayabec is over 52
One in ten residents said they have no religion (Canada’s towns: 35%). Locally, 6.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. One-person households are more common here than in 79% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 1,763 residents; the 2021 Census found 815 households.
What stands out about the people of Sayabec
Fewer people than before
Sayabec went from 1,831 people in 2016 to 1,706 in 2021, −7%: slower growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Sayabec’s residents are under 52 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Common-law couples
27% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 91% of Canadian towns; 30% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
13% of residents speak English and French, a share 67% of Canadian towns don’t reach
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. 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
Here 0.3% of residents have English as their mother tongue, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 66%. Against that, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Sayabec changed by −7% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 98% 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
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Quebec’s towns +4%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 3%.
27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 86% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with just over one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns. Measured more widely, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 14% of residents are under 15.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women.
Sayabec households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Sayabec, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families.
In Sayabec, 27% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns, against 30% in Sayabec. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%.
75% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 65% of Canadian towns
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Locally, 29% of households rent their home. The comparison figure for households in single-detached houses is 64% across Canada’s towns.
A median household income of $55,600 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Sayabec’s median household took in $55,600 before tax, 35% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Quebec’s towns have a median of $74,000. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 26% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
0% 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
Immigrants are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns.
89% said they are Christian and 10% 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. Here, 2.4% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
12% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 91% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
21% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
An employment rate of 45%
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 45%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 27% are 65 or over.
Of the 4 towns nearest Sayabec, 2 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Sayabec has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 21–29 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sayabec | 1,763 | — | 52 | 27% | 0% |
| Amqui | 6,059 | 21.3 km | 52 | 29% | 0.3% |
| Saint-Ulric | 1,658 | 25.1 km | 55.6 | 29% | 2.6% |
| Sainte-Angèle-de-Mérici | 1,005 | 28.7 km | 46.8 | 23% | 0% |
| Lac-au-Saumon | 1,485 | 29.4 km | 53.2 | 33% | 0.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- 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.
Questions about Sayabec’s residents
Is Sayabec good for families?
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 50% of households and one-parent families 8.6%. Schools near Sayabec are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sayabec?
Half of Sayabec’s households had more than $55,600 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Sayabec?
About 1,763, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,706 people in Sayabec, 7% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Sayabec?
The median age is 52. 14% are under 15 and 27% 65 or older.
Is Sayabec bilingual?
English and French: 13% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 0%. French only: 87%. French mother tongue: 99%.
How diverse is Sayabec?
Immigrants: 0% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 0%. Indigenous identity: 2.4%.
What religion are people in Sayabec?
10% said they have no religion and 89% that they are Christian; 0.3% named another faith.
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).