WadenaSaskatchewan
Population 1,278: a town in Saskatchewan. Statistics Canada places it in the Division No. 10 census division.
Is Wadena a good place to live?
Wadena is easy to get around without a car (A−). Jobs and pay hold up well (A−). Safety is its weak spot (D). Health outcomes fall short of most towns (C−).
An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Canadian towns; Wadena 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 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.
How Wadena grades
Each subject compares Wadena 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; Wadena has its subject grades alone.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Wadena stand out
The 3 things Wadena does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wadena.
Hazard risk in Wadena is lower than in 96% of Canadian towns
Water Security Agency has mapped the flood hazard here: one study on the national inventory. Wadena’s survey area, 6.6% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.005 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Behind radon tests sits data gathered across the Saskatoon RHA, with Wadena one part of it.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 6.6% | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.005 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
2 schools in and around Wadena: 1 elementary school and 1 secondary school
Elementary school is 30 km away at the nearest, above Saskatchewan’s towns (0.4 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km) alike.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena ElementaryIn WadenaElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Wadena Composite SchoolIn WadenaSecondary | Secondary | – | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest elementary school | 30 km | 0.4 km | 0.5 km |
| Nearest secondary school | 30 km | 1.1 km | 1.2 km |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · Schools grade in Saskatchewan: none (the province publishes no results school by school).
Crime runs heavier where Wadena is policed than in Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns, at an index of 128
The force’s area logs 31.1 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The violent index for its police area came to 152, about level with Saskatchewan’s towns (154) and above Canadian towns (86). Property crime in the area its police cover: 45.6 per 1,000 people a year. Wadena shares its Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 numbers with the rest of the Wadena detachment area.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 31.1 | 15.2 | 12 |
| Crime Severity Index | 128 | 119 | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 152 | 154 | 86 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 45.6 | 48.4 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Commuters in Wadena have a short way to work, 15 min on average, less than in Saskatchewan’s towns and Canadian towns
The car took 89% of commuters, close to both Saskatchewan’s towns (91%) and Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 15 min | 18 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 89% | 91% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
More smokers around Wadena: 20% of adults, where the typical Canadian town has 12%
About as many adults call their health very good or excellent here as across Saskatchewan, 49% against 49%. Statistics Canada puts life expectancy at 78.6, below both Saskatchewan’s towns (80.2) and Canadian towns (81.5). Closer to home, a hospital is just 0.6 km from the average resident of Wadena, nearer than the usual 3.7 km. For health survey and life expectancy, the only official count covers all of the South East health region, Wadena included.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 20% | 8.6% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.6 | 80.2 | 81.5 |
| Very good or excellent health | 49% | 49% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Wadena has cooler summers than Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns: July highs of 24.2°C
The frost-free season runs from 19 May to 19 September, 122 days. Counting rain and snow alike, 501 mm falls in a year, above Saskatchewan’s towns (383 mm) but below Canadian towns (883 mm). In January, overnight lows in Wadena settle at −20.0°C. Snow peaks in December: 23 cm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation a year | 501 mm | 383 mm | 883 mm |
| July afternoon high | 24.2°C | 25.0°C | 25.5°C |
| January night low | −20.0°C | −20.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 201 | 203 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Kelliher)
A median age of 52.4: Wadena is older than nine in ten Canadian towns
2.5% of residents belong to a visible minority, below both Saskatchewan’s towns (16%) and Canadian towns (15%). First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 1.2% of residents, below both Saskatchewan’s towns (11%) and Canadian towns (2.8%).
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 52.2% of Wadena
Women numbered 660 and men 605 in 2021, next to a 50.9% share of women for Canada.
| Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 53% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 32% | 16% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 44% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Saskatchewan and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Wadena is a town of owners: 81% of households own their home, above Saskatchewan’s towns and Canadian towns
Shelter took 30% or more of income for nearly one in ten households, below Saskatchewan’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike. Rent took nearly a fifth of household income, near both Saskatchewan’s towns (19%) and Canadian towns (20%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 9% | 17% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 81% | 71% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020.
Wadena in November: highs near −2°C, lows near −10°C
A normal November brings 24 mm of rain and snow. Next comes December, with normal highs of −9°C and lows of −17°C. Expect around 22 cm of snow in November. Also worth knowing: the forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Wynyard.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −9°C | −18°C | 60 mm |
| Spring | 8°C | −4°C | 101 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 11°C | 239 mm |
| Autumn | 8°C | −2°C | 101 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Kelliher); the forecast is on the Weather page
Yorkton—Melville gave Cathay Wagantall a 19,555-vote lead in 2021, bigger than in 97% of ridings
No provincial riding is named for Wadena, because the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan’s boundary file gives no terms of reuse.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
The nearest public library to Wadena is Wynyard Branch Library, 33 km away
Visits and loans aren’t published as open data in Saskatchewan, so this page has none for Wadena.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Wadena has more protected land around it than 8 in 10 Canadian towns
5.7 km out lies the largest, Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, at 126,136 ha. CPCAD lists 16 protected areas within 10 km. The nearest national park is more than 100 km away.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Wadena | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 7.7% | 1.7% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Wadena
Famous people from Wadena
7 notable people were born in Wadena.
About Wadena
Town in Saskatchewan
Every figure TownRatings gives for Wadena covers the municipality as Statistics Canada maps it, one census subdivision in Saskatchewan.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,278 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Saskatchewan
- Census division
- Division No. 10
- Census subdivision
- 4710068
Questions about Wadena
Who are the people of Wadena?
Visible minorities are 3% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 4%, and Indigenous people 1%.
How old are the people of Wadena?
At 52.4, its median age compares with 45.2 across Canadian towns. Children make up 15% of the population and seniors 32%.
What kind of homes are in Wadena?
83% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2 people; 42% are one person living alone.
Has Wadena grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 1,288 to 1,269 residents (1.5% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 1,278.
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).