Photo: Robert Garry · CC BY-SA 4.0A higher share of Indigenous residents than 83% of Canadian towns, at 8.1%
Most recent wave: 54% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Sept-Îles is home to some 24,483 people (July 2025 estimate), in 11,270 households at the 2021 Census. 36% of households are one person living alone. Few places have so few immigrants: 2% here, fewer than in 93% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Sept-Îles
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Sept-Îles went from 25,400 to 24,569 residents (−3%), slower growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Common-law couples
31% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 25% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Sept-Îles ranks above 81% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 30%
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Against a figure of 66% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is English in Sept-Îles comes in at 2.8%. At home: French 94%, English 2.6%. As a reference point, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
A change of −3% since 2016 leaves Sept-Îles behind 93% of Canadian towns
The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The estimate for July 2025 is much the same as the census count. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +4% across Quebec’s towns.
Older than 64% of Canadian towns: half of Sept-Îles is over 44.4
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
21% of residents are 65 or over; across Canada’s towns the figure is 19%. No age band is larger than 55–59: 8% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Sept-Îles, 44.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 83% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
9.5% of households are one-parent families (Canada’s towns: 8.2%).
Sept-Îles sits above 95% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (31%)
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Here 25% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 46%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners is 11%.
48% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 71% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
By its share of households in buildings of five or more storeys (1.6%), Sept-Îles is above 63% of Canadian towns. Renter households are more common here than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns. The benchmark for households in single-detached houses across Canada’s towns: 64%. Older homes outnumber new: 18% predate 1961, 10% date from 2001 or later.
Household income, middle of the range: $80,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Sept-Îles had $80,000 before tax, 7% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Quebec’s towns, half of households had more than $74,000 before tax. Pandemic benefits reached 24% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
2% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
1.5% of residents are not Canadian citizens; across Canada’s towns the figure is 5.8%. In Sept-Îles, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Fewer residents with no religion than 82% of Canadian towns: 23%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The figure for visible minority residents is 2.4% in Sept-Îles and 15% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 35% of residents said they have no religion.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 76% of Canadian towns: 17%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 15% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 62%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 62%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 13th of 41 towns of 23,373 to 25,554 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
At one end is Fort St. John (32.4), at the other White Rock (58). By median age, Sept-Îles sits among Islington (44), Sheldon (44.2), Kingsville (45.2) and Kingston (45.6).
Every nearby town is younger than Sept-Îles
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept-Îles | 24,483 | — | 44.4 | 21% | 2% |
| Uashat 27 | 1,694 | 1.6 km | 29.6 | 8.7% | 0% |
| Maliotenam | 1,683 | 12.9 km | 27.8 | 9% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Sept-Îles’s residents
Is Sept-Îles bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 30% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 1.1% speak only English and 69% only French; 93% grew up with French.
How diverse is Sept-Îles?
2% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.4% belong to a visible minority and 8.1% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Sept-Îles?
77% are Christian and 23% have no religion; 1% follow another religion.
Is Sept-Îles good for families?
Under 15: 16% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 49% of households. One-parent families: 9.5%. Schools near Sept-Îles are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sept-Îles?
The median household in Sept-Îles took in $80,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Sept-Îles?
Sept-Îles had about 24,483 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 24,569, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Sept-Îles?
A median age of 44.4, older than 64% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 16%, and people 65 and over 21%.
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).