Photo: SriMesh (Julia Adamson) · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 32.8: Meadow Lake is younger than 96% of Canadian towns
In Meadow Lake, 18% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across Canada’s towns. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 14% here, more than in 89% of Canadian towns. About 5,667 people lived in the town in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Renter households account for 41%.
What stands out about the people of Meadow Lake
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
49% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 22% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Meadow Lake’s median age is 32.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 25% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Meadow Lake changed by ±0% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 80% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; ±0% across Saskatchewan’s towns. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 6%.
A larger share of children under 15 than 97% of Canadian towns: 25%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
5–9 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns. Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 13% here, fewer than in 84% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Meadow Lake, 32.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
A higher share of one-parent families than 96% of Canadian towns, at 14%
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households average 2.7 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. One-parent families: 8.2% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Census figures put one-person households at 26% in Meadow Lake.
Meadow Lake ranks below 68% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 40%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
37% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Common-law partners account for 12%. The usual figure: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Meadow Lake: 68% of households live in a single-detached house, above 55% 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
Newer homes outnumber old: 16% date from 2001 or later, 16% from before 1961. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Before tax, the median household income is $86,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $86,000, the middle household in Meadow Lake earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Saskatchewan’s towns has $86,500 before tax. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 29% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
7.4% 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
Most immigrants were born in Asia (70%) or in Africa (20%). Immigrants are rarer here than in 72% of Canadian towns. Of the immigrants living here, 68% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
49% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion tops just over two thirds of Canadian towns: 41%. Typically, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. Census figures put visible minority residents at 11% in Meadow Lake.
87% have English as their mother tongue; 2.6% also speak French
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
An Indigenous language is the mother tongue of 2.5%. Bilingual residents are rarer here than in 96% of Canadian towns. There is little gap on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.8%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 22%, a lower share than 63% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 13% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
A job for 59% 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. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
59% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (5,587 to 5,764 people), the 4th youngest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
At one end is Montcalm (27.8), at the other Osoyoos (63.2). In age, Meadow Lake keeps company with Countryside (32), Creditview (32.5), Lampman (33.4) and Bankview (34.2).
Among its 4 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Meadow Lake
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Meadow Lake has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 17–68 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meadow Lake | 5,667 | — | 32.8 | 13% | 7.4% |
| Meadow Lake No. 588 | 2,712 | 17.1 km | 46 | 20% | 1.6% |
| Makwa Lake 129B | 1,203 | 47.7 km | 21.2 | 4.1% | 0% |
| Beaver River No. 622 | 1,442 | 60.2 km | 45.6 | 20% | 1.6% |
| Mervin No. 499 | 1,920 | 67.7 km | 58 | 34% | 3.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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 Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Saskatchewan’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Meadow Lake’s residents
What is the population of Meadow Lake?
Statistics Canada estimates 5,667 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 5,322 in Meadow Lake, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Meadow Lake?
32.8 is the median age, younger than 96% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 25%. 65 and over: 13%.
Is Meadow Lake bilingual?
2.6% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 97% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.8%.
How diverse is Meadow Lake?
Immigrants make up 7.4% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 11% are members of a visible minority, and 49% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Meadow Lake?
Christian: 55%. No religion: 41%. Another religion: 4.1%.
Is Meadow Lake good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 25%. 46% of households are couple families and 14% one-parent families. Schools near Meadow Lake are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Meadow Lake?
$86,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Meadow Lake (Canada’s towns: $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).