StratfordQuebec
The town, home to 1,062 people, lies in Quebec. Its population rose 10% from 2016 to 2021.
Is Stratford a good place to live?
Stratford’s strongest is health (A−). Owners valued their homes at a median $250,000 in 2021, which is 4 years of the typical household’s pay. Jobs and pay trail most towns (D). Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for walkability and B for hazard risk.
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Canadian towns; Stratford has its subject grades alone.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the Sûreté du Québec unit's figure for the whole MRC. Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but many visitors or second-home owners add to it, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents' own risk. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Stratford grades
Each subject compares Stratford with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Canadian towns; Stratford has its subject grades alone.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Stratford stand out
The 3 things Stratford does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Stratford.
Commuters in Stratford travel further than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns, 29 min on average
86% of commuters drove, below Quebec’s towns (90%) and close to Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 29 min | 27 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 86% | 90% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
Summers stay cool in Stratford: July afternoons reach 23.5°C, below Quebec’s towns and Canadian towns
Rain and snow peak in July, at 140 mm. Snowfall adds up to 358 cm a year, higher than both Quebec’s towns (217 cm) and Canadian towns (141 cm). Winter lows in Stratford average −16.1°C in January. Snow peaks in December: 81 cm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowfall a year | 358 cm | 217 cm | 141 cm |
| July afternoon high | 23.5°C | 26.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 1,324 mm | 1,041 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 177 | 161 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Thetford Mines)
The nearest hospital is 34 km from the average home in Stratford
Age-standardised, 57% of the region’s adults put their health at very good or excellent, near Quebec’s towns (56%) and higher than Canadian towns (52%). Women in the region live to 84.8 and men to 81.0, 82.9 years taken together (2022/2024). For health survey and life expectancy, the only official count covers all of the Région de l'Estrie, Stratford included.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 57% | 56% | 52% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 82.9 | 82.5 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Stratford gets a B+ for safety
Property crime in its police area ran at 10.3 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Quebec’s towns (16.6) and Canadian towns (31.2). The index for the force that serves it came to 48, below both Quebec’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67).
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 10.3 | 16.6 | 31.2 |
| Crime Severity Index | 48 | 56 | 67 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average · Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000: Granit MRC
31% of Stratford’s residents speak English and French (Quebec’s towns: 44%; Canadian towns: 7.5%)
Visible minorities make up 2.4% of the population, below both Quebec’s towns (3.5%) and Canadian towns (15%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
45.9% of Stratford’s residents are women
Here the census found 560 men and 475 women; the figure for women across Canada is 50.9%.
| Stratford | Quebec | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 8.7% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 54% | 62% | 64% |
| 65+ | 38% | 20% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 13% | 19% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 64% | 59% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Quebec and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Most households in Stratford own their home: 91%, more than in Quebec’s towns and across Canadian towns
9% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, below both Quebec’s towns (13%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 91% | 70% | 74% |
| Rent as a share of income | 13% | 18% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 9% | 13% | 18% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $250,000 | $300,000 | $406,000 |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Stratford’s hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 7.3% of area homes over the radon guideline
Source area for radon tests: the Estrie health region
For earthquakes Stratford is middling, $0.040 a year per $1,000 against $0.030 for the typical town. The national flood inventory has no study of the town.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.040 | $0.14 | $0.030 |
| Radon tests above the guideline | 7.3% | 8.2% | 6.6% |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
The nearest high school to Stratford is 11 km away
Young children have 4.7 km to the nearest elementary school, above both Quebec’s towns (0.5 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| École Dominique-SavioIn StratfordElementary | Elementary | – | French public |
| Schools within 3 km | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 11 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
| Nearest elementary school | 4.7 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025-26 · In Quebec, no schools grade. The ministry publishes its success rates by school service centre, not school by school.
Stratford in November: highs near 3°C, lows near −4°C
About 28 cm of snow falls in a normal November. Expect about 91 mm of rain and snow over November. Normal highs peak at 24°C in July; nights bottom out at −16°C in January. For today and the week ahead, the Weather page carries ECCC’s Thetford Mines forecast.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −5°C | −14°C | 309 mm |
| Spring | 8°C | −2°C | 305 mm |
| Summer | 22°C | 12°C | 396 mm |
| Autumn | 11°C | 2°C | 315 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Thetford Mines); the forecast is on the Weather page
One councillor per 150 residents: Stratford is more closely represented than 96% of Quebec municipalities
Daniel Morin leads Stratford as mayor, alongside 6 councillors.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Bibliothèque De Stratford is Stratford’s public library
The library is 4.6 km from the centre of Stratford.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
More of the land around Stratford is protected than around 9 in 10 Canadian towns
Some protected land is inside the town: 15% of its area. The nearest national park is more than 100 km away. Count 13 protected areas within 10 km of town. OpenStreetMap shows 7 unnamed beaches within 5 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Stratford | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 13% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 10 | 10 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Stratford
Famous people from around Stratford
No notable person born in Stratford is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
About Stratford
Town in Quebec
TownRatings follows Statistics Canada’s map: Stratford is one municipality in Quebec, figures and all.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,062 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Quebec
- Census division
- Le Granit
- Census subdivision
- 2430110
Stratford’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
Questions about Stratford
Do people in Stratford speak French?
Almost everyone does. 31% are bilingual, where the median of Canadian towns is 8%, and 68.3% speak French and no English.
Is Stratford growing?
Yes: the census counted 945 in 2016 and 1,036 in 2021, a rise of 9.6%, against 4.1% for the median of Canadian towns. The 2025 estimate is 1,062.
What kind of homes are in Stratford?
Mostly 93% single-detached houses (the median of Canadian towns: 64%), with 0% of homes in buildings of five or more storeys. Households hold 1.9 people on average, and 34% have just one.
How old are the people of Stratford?
Half its people are older than 61.2 (the middle of Canadian towns: 45.2); children under 15 make up 9%, people 65 and over 38%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).