La LocheSaskatchewan
It lies in Division No. 18. A town in Saskatchewan, home to 3,124 people.
Is La Loche a good place to live?
La Loche does especially well on cost of living (A−). Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A). Police record more crime here than in most towns (D−). Natural hazards weigh more here (D−).
La Loche has no overall grade because health isn’t graded here.
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 police detachment's figure, shared with the towns and countryside around it. 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. Wildfire lowers this town's Hazard risk Grade: a high share of the land around it has burned in the last 40 years.
What makes La Loche stand out
The 3 things La Loche does most differently from other towns.
How La Loche grades
Each subject compares La Loche with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
La Loche has no overall grade because health isn’t graded here.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in La Loche.
Violent crime weighs more where La Loche is policed than in Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 1,525
Measured across the La Loche detachment area: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000
The force’s area logs 250.6 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 1,107 over 2023–25, above Saskatchewan’s towns (119) and Canadian towns (67) alike. Thefts, break-ins and damage add up to 441.7 per 1,000 residents a year where it is policed.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index | 1,107 | 119 | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 1,525 | 154 | 86 |
| Violent crime | 250.6 | 15.2 | 12 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 441.7 | 48.4 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
On hazards, La Loche comes out behind almost every Canadian town
Source area for radon tests: the Mamawetan/Keewatin/Athabasca health region
At 1.94% of the land burned each year (66% within 25 km since 1986), La Loche is in the very high wildfire band. More homes than usual carry radon here, 14% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Seismic risk runs low: $0.004 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 14% | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.004 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Rent takes less of local pay in La Loche than in Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns: 16% of household income
The median home value was $150,000, lower than both Saskatchewan’s towns ($324,000) and Canadian towns ($406,000). Shelter took 30% or more of income for just over one in ten households, lower than both Saskatchewan’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $150,000 | $324,000 | $406,000 |
| Rent as a share of income | 16% | 19% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · These are 2021 census values, as owners judged them, set against household income in 2020.
More of La Loche’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns: 94%
0.4% of residents came to Canada as immigrants, below both Saskatchewan’s towns (7.4%) and Canadian towns (6.4%). Visible minorities make up 1.4% of the population, below Saskatchewan’s towns (16%) and Canadian towns (15%) alike.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 54.8% of La Loche
Of the 2021 count, 1,380 were women and 1,140 men (women across Canada: 50.9%).
| La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 34% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 62% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 4.8% | 16% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 53% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 23% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Saskatchewan and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Summers stay cool in La Loche: July afternoons reach 23.0°C, below Saskatchewan’s towns and Canadian towns
Most of the snow comes in January, about 27 cm. January nights fall to −21.9°C on average, lower than both Saskatchewan’s towns (−20.7°C) and Canadian towns (−13.5°C). The frost-free season runs from 21 May to 28 September, 129 days. The most precipitation falls in July: 82 mm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 23.0°C | 25.0°C | 25.5°C |
| January night low | −21.9°C | −20.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 459 mm | 383 mm | 883 mm |
| Snowfall a year | 149 cm | 91 cm | 141 cm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Buffalo Narrows)
Trips to work from La Loche are shorter than from Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns: 14 min on average
Driving is how 76% of commuters got to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 14 min | 18 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 76% | 91% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · These are May 2021 figures, gathered while COVID-19 kept many people home or out of work.
In and around La Loche, 3 schools: 2 elementary schools and 1 school for every grade
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ducharme Elementary SchoolIn La LocheElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Dene High SchoolIn La LocheAll grades | All grades | – | English public |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · Towns in Saskatchewan aren’t in the schools rankings: the province publishes no results school by school.
In La Loche, November normally means −4°C afternoons and −10°C nights
The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for La Loche. Next comes December, with normal highs of −11°C and lows of −19°C. Precipitation in November averages 24 mm. Expect around 25 cm of snow in November.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −11°C | −20°C | 62 mm |
| Spring | 7°C | −5°C | 82 mm |
| Summer | 22°C | 11°C | 215 mm |
| Autumn | 6°C | −2°C | 100 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Buffalo Narrows); the forecast is on the Weather page
Buckley Belanger (Liberal Party of Canada) holds Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, the riding that includes La Loche
13 of the 14 MPs from Saskatchewan belong to the Conservative Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library is mapped in or near La Loche
Without open library statistics in Saskatchewan, the page names La Loche’s libraries but shows no visits or loans.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
La Loche’s region trails the typical Canadian town by 11.5 years: life expectancy 70.0
Area-wide: health survey and life expectancy, counted over the Far North health region
Closer to home, a hospital is just 1.0 km from the average resident of La Loche, nearer than the usual 3.7 km. A pharmacy is nearer: 0.9 km on average, with 1.0 within 3 km of the typical home.
Life expectancy at birth · years, at birth
| Health | La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 70.0 | 80.2 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
None of the land within 10 km of La Loche is protected
The closest provincial park is Clearwater River Provincial Park, 15 km from the edge of town. There is no national park within 100 km of the town.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | La Loche | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0% | 1.7% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about La Loche
Questions about La Loche
Is La Loche a young town or an old one?
Its median age is 25.6, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2. Under-15s are 34% of residents; over-65s, 5%.
What kind of homes are in La Loche?
Single-detached houses make up 55% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 21% of households are one person, and the average is 3.5.
Is La Loche growing?
It added people: 2,444 in 2016, 2,514 in 2021, 2.9% more, where the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 3,124.
About La Loche
Town in Saskatchewan
TownRatings follows Statistics Canada’s map: La Loche is one municipality in Saskatchewan, figures and all.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 3,124 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Saskatchewan
- Census division
- Division No. 18
- Census subdivision
- 4718074
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).