WatrousSaskatchewan
Its census division is Division No. 11. Population 2,154: a town in Saskatchewan.
Is Watrous a good place to live?
Watrous’s standout strength is jobs & income (A+). It also does well on walkability (A+). At $250,000, the median home value in 2021 came to 3.3 times local household income. Health outcomes fall short of most towns (C−).
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Watrous is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
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 Watrous grades
Each subject compares Watrous with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Watrous is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Watrous stand out
The 3 things Watrous does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Watrous.
Commuters in Watrous have a short way to work, 16 min on average, less than in Saskatchewan’s towns and Canadian towns
85% of commuters drove to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 16 min | 18 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 85% | 91% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
Watrous and its edges hold 2 schools: 1 elementary school and 1 secondary school
From the town centre, high school starts 35 km away, above both Saskatchewan’s towns (1.1 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watrous ElementaryIn WatrousElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Watrous Winston High SchoolIn WatrousSecondary | Secondary | – | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 35 km | 1.1 km | 1.2 km |
| Nearest elementary school | 35 km | 0.4 km | 0.5 km |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · Schools grade in Saskatchewan: none (the province publishes no results school by school).
Watrous faces fewer hazards than 90% of Canadian towns
Watrous’ survey area, 6.6% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. Seismic risk runs low: $0.007 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. The national flood inventory has no study of the town. Watrous doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the Saskatoon RHA.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 6.6% | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.007 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Watrous’ health region counts 20% of adults who smoke, above the typical Canadian town’s 12%
Life expectancy at birth in the region is 78.6 years, below Saskatchewan’s towns (80.2) and Canadian towns (81.5) alike. In the health survey, 49% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, close to Saskatchewan’s 49%. For Watrous itself the measure is access, and it scores well: 0.7 km to the nearest hospital, where 3.7 km is typical. Behind health survey and life expectancy sits data gathered across the South East health region, with Watrous one part of it.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Watrous | 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
Rent takes less of local pay in Watrous than in Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns: 16% of household income
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 12% of households, below both Saskatchewan’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (18%). The owner-occupied share of households is 72%.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| Rent as a share of income | 16% | 19% | 20% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $250,000 | $324,000 | $406,000 |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
The force covering Watrous records less serious violence than Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns, at 51
Where it is policed, thefts, break-ins and damage came to 21.4 per 1,000 a year, lower than both Saskatchewan’s towns (48.4) and Canadian towns (31.2). For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 11.1 violent incidents are reported each year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 51 | 154 | 86 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 21.4 | 48.4 | 31.2 |
| Crime Severity Index | 55 | 119 | 67 |
| Violent crime | 11.1 | 15.2 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average · Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000: one figure for all of the Watrous detachment area
The climate in Watrous
Snowfall adds up to 85 cm a year, below Saskatchewan’s towns (91 cm) and Canadian towns (141 cm) alike. Gardeners get 117 frost-free days, from 19 May to 13 September. Winter lows in Watrous average −20.0°C in January.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation a year | 417 mm | 383 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 204 | 203 | 159 |
| January night low | −20.0°C | −20.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Snowfall a year | 85 cm | 91 cm | 141 cm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Watrous)
In Watrous, November normally means −1°C afternoons and −10°C nights
November usually brings some 12 cm of snow. December follows at −8°C by day and −17°C by night. ECCC’s forecast for Watrous is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −9°C | −19°C | 37 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −4°C | 89 mm |
| Summer | 24°C | 10°C | 207 mm |
| Autumn | 9°C | −2°C | 84 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Watrous); the forecast is on the Weather page
Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan gave Fraser Tolmie a 16,894-vote lead in 2021, bigger than in 91% of ridings
Locally, Watrous is run as a town.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
The nearest public library to Watrous is Davidson Branch Library, 37 km away
Visits and loans aren’t published as open data in Saskatchewan, so this page has none for Watrous.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
An older town: 27% of people in Watrous are 65 or over, more than in Saskatchewan’s towns or Canadian towns
Under-15s account for 15% of the population. 10% of residents came to Canada as immigrants, above both Saskatchewan’s towns (7.4%) and Canadian towns (6.4%).
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 51.4% of Watrous
895 men and 945 women lived here in 2021, against a share of women of 50.9% for Canada.
| Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 58% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 27% | 16% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 17% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 49% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Saskatchewan and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
More of the land around Watrous is protected than around 8 in 10 Canadian towns
OpenStreetMap shows one beach within 5 km, without a name. The largest is Usborne: 4,997 ha, 5.7 km from the edge of town. Count 4 protected areas within 10 km of town. The nearest national park is more than 100 km away.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Watrous | Saskatchewan | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 7.6% | 1.7% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 3 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Watrous
Famous people from Watrous
5 notable people were born in Watrous.
About Watrous
Town in Saskatchewan
Every figure TownRatings gives for Watrous 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
- 2,154 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Saskatchewan
- Census division
- Division No. 11
- Census subdivision
- 4711053
Questions about Watrous
What kind of homes are in Watrous?
Single-detached houses make up 76% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 38% of households are one person, and the average is 2.1.
Who are the people of Watrous?
11% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 8% have an Indigenous identity and 10% are immigrants.
Is Watrous growing?
It lost people: 1,900 in 2016, 1,842 in 2021, 3.1% fewer, while the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 2,154.
How old are the people of Watrous?
At 48.8, its median age compares with 45.2 across Canadian towns. Children make up 15% of the population and seniors 27%.
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).