Photo: Velatrix · CC0Younger than 99% of Canadian towns: half of Waskaganish is under 25
Households average 4.5 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. In Waskaganish, 83% of households live in a single-detached house. 0.8% of residents belong to a visible minority, fewer than in 96% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 2,726 residents; the 2021 Census found 565 households.
What stands out about the people of Waskaganish
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
97% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 97% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 86% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Waskaganish is 25; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 34% are under 15 and 6.3% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Waskaganish went from 2,196 people in 2016 to 2,536 in 2021, +16%: faster growth than in 92% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bilingual residents: 21%, a higher share than 75% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. 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
Where 66% of residents have English as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns, Waskaganish has 7.1%. Across Canada’s towns, 7.5% of residents speak English and French. At home: French 1%, English 12%.
Waskaganish grew +16% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 92% 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
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Quebec’s towns, +4%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 7%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 6.3%, a lower share than 98% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The figure for children under 15 is 34% in Waskaganish and 16% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 19% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Waskaganish, 25. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
A lower share of one-person households than 97% of Canadian towns, at 11%
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Compared with 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 16% of households are one-parent families here. Elsewhere, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Waskaganish ranks below 84% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 32%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 50% of adults, beside a typical 27%. By way of comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Census figures put common-law partners at 13% in Waskaganish.
Waskaganish sits below 94% of Canadian towns for renter households (8%)
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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. On average, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 21% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Half of households earn more than $117,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run high in Waskaganish: half had more than $117,000, 36% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Quebec’s towns, the typical figure is $74,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 39% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
In Waskaganish, 97% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Census figures put residents with no religion at 35% in Waskaganish. For Indigenous residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 2.8%.
7.2% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, below 99% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 37% (typical 9.5%). Across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
A job for 48% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 48%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 6.3% are 65 or over.
The 1st youngest of 41 towns of 2,686 to 2,766 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages climb from 25 (Waskaganish) to 56.8 (Eastman) across the group. Kuujjuaq (28.8) and Trinity (33.4): the towns nearest Waskaganish in median age.
No nearby town is as young as Waskaganish
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. The nearest places to Waskaganish with figures are 131–134 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waskaganish | 2,726 | — | 25 | 6.3% | 0% |
| Factory Island 1 | 1,511 | 130.9 km | 31 | 8.7% | 0% |
| Moosonee | 1,510 | 133.6 km | 29.8 | 7.3% | 5.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Quebec’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
Questions about Waskaganish’s residents
What is the population of Waskaganish?
About 2,726, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,536 people in Waskaganish, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Waskaganish?
The median age is 25, younger than 99% of Canadian towns. 34% are under 15 and 6.3% 65 or older.
Is Waskaganish bilingual?
English and French: 21% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 73%. French only: 0.2%. French mother tongue: 1.6%.
How diverse is Waskaganish?
0.8% of residents belong to a visible minority and 97% have an Indigenous identity; Statistics Canada suppresses the immigration figures for Waskaganish.
What religion are people in Waskaganish?
35% said they have no religion and 63% that they are Christian; 2.4% named another faith.
Is Waskaganish good for families?
34% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 39% of households and one-parent families 16%. Schools near Waskaganish are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Waskaganish?
Half of Waskaganish’s households had more than $117,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).