A median age of 52.4: Wadena is older than 91% of Canadian towns
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (7.5%), Wadena is below 94% of Canadian towns. Residents with no religion account for 49%. Households in single-detached houses are more common here than in 77% of Canadian towns. About 1,278 people lived here in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates.
What stands out about the people of Wadena
Older than most towns
Wadena’s median age is 52.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 32% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 42%, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, and 32% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower than most: −2% since 2016, behind 87% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and ±0% across Saskatchewan’s towns. The July 2025 estimate is close to the census count.
Wadena ranks above 96% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 32%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
By its share of children under 15 (15%), Wadena is below just over three fifths of Canadian towns. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.9% of residents.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
42% of households are one person living alone, a share 91% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families make up 9.1%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. On average, 2 people share a household.
A lower share of common-law partners than 73% of Canadian towns, at 7.9%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a quarter of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). On the census count, 46% of residents 15 and over are married. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%.
A lower share of renter households than 64% of Canadian towns, at 19%
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
27% of homes were built before 1961 and 5.8% in 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
The midpoint household income is $57,600 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Wadena’s, at $57,600, is 33% lower. Across Saskatchewan’s towns the median is $86,500. Pandemic benefits reached 17% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 87% of Canadian towns: 7.5%
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
Of the immigrants living here, 67% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. The share of immigrants stands at 3.7%. 2.5% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a lower share than in 70% of Canadian towns. The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
49% said they are Christian and 49% that they have no religion
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
1.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity; across Canada’s towns the figure is 2.8%. Locally, 2.5% of residents belong to a visible minority.
English is the mother tongue of 92%, and 0.8% speak French as well
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Set against 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 0.8% of residents speak English and French in Wadena. Here, 0.4% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Fewer degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 94% of Canadian towns: 11%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 5.8%, against 9.5%. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Employment: 54% of residents 15 and over had a job
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
54% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 32% are 65 or more.
The towns around Wadena are all younger
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Wadena has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 33–78 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena | 1,278 | — | 52.4 | 32% | 3.7% |
| Wynyard | 1,827 | 32.8 km | 46.8 | 26% | 9.9% |
| Foam Lake | 1,154 | 39.0 km | 49.6 | 30% | 8.5% |
| Preeceville | 1,046 | 77.9 km | 51.6 | 34% | 11% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- Against Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Saskatchewan’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Wadena’s residents
What religion are people in Wadena?
49% are Christian and 49% have no religion; 2.1% follow another religion.
Is Wadena good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 45% of households. One-parent families: 9.1%. Schools near Wadena are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Wadena?
The median household in Wadena took in $57,600 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Wadena?
Wadena had about 1,278 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,269, 2% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Wadena?
A median age of 52.4. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 32%.
Is Wadena bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 0.8% are. Another 0% speak only French and 99% only English, and French is the first language of 0.4%.
How diverse is Wadena?
3.7% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.5% belong to a visible minority and 1.2% have an Indigenous identity.
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).