Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.

Archived Content

Content is archived.

Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census metropolitan area of Sherbrooke, Quebec 1

Map of Sherbrooke, CMA (shaded in green), Quebec

Map of Sherbrooke

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: Sherbrooke, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Sherbrooke, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
4
Nat. rank
19

In 2011, the population of Sherbrooke census metropolitan area (CMA) was 201,890, representing a percentage change of 5.5% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CMAs of 7.4%.

In Sherbrooke, the land area is 1,459.61 square kilometres with a population density of 138.3 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the national land area of 8,965,121.42 square kilometres with a population density of 3.7 persons per square kilometre. The land area of all CMAs is 92,648.98 square kilometres with 249.58 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 91,099 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Sherbrooke in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 7.7%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Census subdivisions in the Sherbrooke CMA

Table 1 Sherbrooke CMA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name Type Population
2011 2006 % change
Sherbrooke V 154,601 147,427 4.9
Magog V 25,358 23,880 6.2
Orford CT 3,575 2,979 20.0
Saint-Denis-de-Brompton PE 3,402 3,090 10.1
Compton MÉ 3,112 2,818 10.4
Ascot Corner MÉ 2,891 2,595 11.4
Stoke MÉ 2,765 2,708 2.1
Waterville V 2,028 1,926 5.3
Hatley CT 2,003 1,786 12.2
Val-Joli MÉ 1,501 1,479 1.5
North Hatley VL 654 722 -9.4

Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) in Quebec

Table 2 Quebec – Metropolitan areas, population rank and population change, 2006 to 2011
CMA or CA name Type Population Rank
2011 2006 % change Nat. Prov.
Montréal † CMA 3,824,221 3,635,556 A 5.2 2 1
Ottawa - Gatineau CMA 1,236,324 1,133,633 A 9.1 4 ···
Ottawa - Gatineau (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   314,501 286,831 A 9.6 ··· 3
Ottawa - Gatineau (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   921,823 846,802 8.9 ··· 2
Québec † CMA 765,706 719,153 A 6.5 7 2
Sherbrooke CMA 201,890 191,410 A 5.5 19 4
Saguenay CMA 157,790 156,305 A 1.0 26 5
Trois-Rivières CMA 151,773 144,713 A 4.9 27 6
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu CA 92,394 87,492 5.6 41 7
Drummondville CA 88,480 82,949 A 6.7 45 8
Granby CA 77,077 71,176 A 8.3 48 9
Saint-Hyacinthe CA 56,794 54,976 A 3.3 57 10
Shawinigan CA 55,009 56,408 A -2.5 60 11
Rimouski CA 50,912 48,918 A 4.1 62 12
Sorel-Tracy CA 47,772 46,595 A 2.5 64 13
Joliette CA 46,932 43,306 A 8.4 65 14
Victoriaville CA 46,354 43,195 A 7.3 66 15
Rouyn-Noranda CA 41,798 40,650 A 2.8 72 16
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield CA 40,077 39,672 1.0 74 17
Saint-Georges CA 34,642 32,902 A 5.3 80 18
Val-d'Or CA 33,265 32,288 3.0 83 19
Alma CA 33,018 31,864 A 3.6 84 20
Baie-Comeau CA 28,789 29,674 A -3.0 88 21
Sept-Îles CA 28,487 27,827 2.4 89 22
Thetford Mines CA 27,968 28,110 A -0.5 91 23
Rivière-du-Loup CA 27,734 26,423 A 5.0 93 24
Matane CA 18,368 18,709 A -1.8 111 25
Campbellton CA 17,842 17,878 A -0.2 113 ···
Campbellton (New Brunswick part / partie du Nouveau-Brunswick)   14,520 14,816 A -2.0 ··· 7
Campbellton (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   3,322 3,062 8.5 ··· 30
Amos CA 17,090 17,176 A -0.5 118 26
Dolbeau-Mistassini CA 16,019 16,257 A -1.5 122 27
Lachute CA 12,551 11,832 6.1 137 28
Cowansville CA 12,489 12,182 A 2.5 139 29
Hawkesbury CA 12,128 12,267 -1.1 143 ···
Hawkesbury (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   1,577 1,398 12.8 ··· 31
Hawkesbury (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   10,551 10,869 -2.9 ··· 43

Age and sex

Sherbrooke – Age distribution

Chart C: Sherbrooke - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Sherbrooke - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Sherbrooke – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 15.7% 16.7% 14.9%
15 to 64 67.6% 68.8% 66.5%
65 and over 16.7% 14.6% 18.7%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Sherbrooke was 16.7%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 67.6% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 15.7%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

Sherbrooke – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Sherbrooke – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex Population
2011 2006 change % change
Both sexes
Total 201,890 191,410 10,480 5.5
0 to 14 31,770 32,040 -270 -0.8
15 to 64 136,485 131,735 4,750 3.6
65 and over 33,640 27,635 6,005 21.7
Males
Total 98,165 92,360 5,805 6.3
0 to 14 16,365 16,380 -15 -0.1
15 to 64 67,510 64,725 2,785 4.3
65 and over 14,285 11,250 3,035 27.0
Females
Total 103,725 99,055 4,670 4.7
0 to 14 15,405 15,655 -250 -1.6
15 to 64 68,970 67,010 1,960 2.9
65 and over 19,350 16,385 2,965 18.1

Sherbrooke – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D: Sherbrooke - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Sherbrooke - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Sherbrooke – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 201,890 98,165 103,725
0 to 4 years 10,860 5,525 5,330
5 to 9 years 10,150 5,245 4,910
10 to 14 years 10,755 5,595 5,160
15 to 19 years 12,740 6,350 6,390
20 to 24 years 14,650 7,380 7,270
25 to 29 years 13,380 6,885 6,495
30 to 34 years 13,005 6,505 6,505
35 to 39 years 11,620 5,750 5,870
40 to 44 years 12,185 6,140 6,045
45 to 49 years 14,825 7,290 7,535
50 to 54 years 15,485 7,465 8,020
55 to 59 years 14,890 7,200 7,690
60 to 64 years 13,705 6,550 7,155
65 to 69 years 10,975 5,260 5,720
70 to 74 years 7,495 3,490 4,000
75 to 79 years 6,025 2,540 3,485
80 to 84 years 4,550 1,705 2,845
85 to 89 years 2,995 940 2,055
90 to 94 years 1,245 285 955
95 to 99 years 320 60 265
100 years and over 30 10 25
Median age 41.6 39.9 43.3

Sherbrooke – Median age2 of the population

Chart E: Canada, Quebec and Sherbrooke - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Quebec and Sherbrooke - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Sherbrooke was 41.6 years. In comparison, the median age of Quebec was 41.9 years.

Table 6 Canada, Quebec and Sherbrooke – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
Quebec 41.0 41.9
Sherbrooke 40.3 41.6

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families3 in Sherbrooke was 55,245, which represents a change of 4.8% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In Sherbrooke, 47.4% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 36.6% were common-law-couples and 16.0% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Sherbrooke - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Sherbrooke - Census families by family structure

Sherbrooke – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Quebec, Sherbrooke – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name Total families Married-couple families Common-law-couple families Lone-parent families % change, census families, 2006 to 2011
number % number % number %
Canada † 9,389,695 6,293,950 67.0 1,567,905 16.7 1,527,840 16.3 5.5
Quebec † 2,203,625 1,143,370 51.9 694,750 31.5 365,515 16.6 3.9
Sherbrooke 55,245 26,190 47.4 20,240 36.6 8,820 16.0 4.8

Sherbrooke – Presence of children within couple families

Chart G: Sherbrooke - Presence of children within couple families
Married couples Common-law-couples
with children without children with children without children
9,290 (20.0%) 16,895 (36.4%) 10,020 (21.6%) 10,215 (22.0%)

Chart G description: Sherbrooke - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census metropolitan area of Sherbrooke, 41.6% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Among couples with children aged 24 and under at home in the census metropolitan area of Sherbrooke, 81.6% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 18.3% were stepfamilies, in which there was at least one child was the biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner. For Canada as a whole in 2011, 12.6% of couples with children aged 24 and under were stepfamilies.

Sherbrooke – Marital status

Chart H: Sherbrooke - Marital status

Chart H description: Sherbrooke - Marital status

In Sherbrooke, 55.5% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (31.7%) or living with a common-law partner (23.8%).

The remaining 44.5% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 8 Canada, Quebec, Sherbrooke – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status Sherbrooke Quebec Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 170,120 100.0 6,644,380 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 94,435 55.5 3,745,315 56.4 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 53,885 31.7 2,353,775 35.4 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 40,550 23.8 1,391,545 20.9 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 75,685 44.5 2,899,060 43.6 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 49,965 29.4 1,942,090 29.2 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 2,270 1.3 105,190 1.6 698,245 2.5
Divorced 13,745 8.1 463,830 7.0 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 9,705 5.7 387,950 5.8 1,584,525 5.7

Sherbrooke – Types of private households

There were 91,095 private households4 in Sherbrooke in 2011, a change of 7.6% from 2006. Of these, 21.0% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -1.8% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Quebec, Sherbrooke – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type5 Sherbrooke Quebec Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Private households 91,095 100.0 3,395,345 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home6		 19,140 21.0 811,120 23.9 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home7		 26,740 29.4 988,410 29.1 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households8 8,570 9.4 346,305 10.2 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 32,520 35.7 1,094,410 32.2 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple-family households9 390 0.4 28,420 0.8 268,060 2.0
Other households10 3,730 4.1 126,680 3.7 543,340 4.1

Sherbrooke – Structural type of dwelling

In Sherbrooke, 44.8% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 2.4% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Quebec, Sherbrooke – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling Sherbrooke Quebec Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 91,100 100.0 3,395,345 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 40,780 44.8 1,560,405 46.0 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 3,370 3.7 171,435 5.0 646,240 4.9
Row house 1,940 2.1 86,040 2.5 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 2,150 2.4 171,110 5.0 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 36,400 40.0 1,103,845 32.5 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 5,715 6.3 263,860 7.8 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house11 300 0.3 15,650 0.5 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling12 445 0.5 23,000 0.7 183,510 1.4

Language

Sherbrooke – Mother tongue

Chart J: Sherbrooke - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Chart J description: Sherbrooke - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In Sherbrooke, 4.9% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 89.4% reported French only, and 4.6% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 7.7% for English only, 78.1% for French only and 12.3% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 4.6% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 91.0% spoke only French and 2.8% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 9.8% for English only, 80.0% for French only and 7.1% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 Sherbrooke – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 199,185 100.0 199,185 100.0
English 9,735 4.9 9,185 4.6
French 178,035 89.4 181,240 91.0
Non-official language 9,090 4.6 5,660 2.8
Multiple responses 2,325 1.2 3,100 1.6
Table 12 Sherbrooke – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention13
(in percentage)
Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis Complete retention; language spoken most often at home Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English 87.9 74.1 13.8
French 99.7 99.1 0.6
Non-official language 85.2 67.6 17.6

Sherbrooke – Non-official languages

In Sherbrooke, the three most common mother tongues were Spanish (1.5%), Arabic (0.7%) and Persian (Farsi) (0.4%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Arabic (2.1%), Spanish (1.8%) and Italian (1.6%).

Table 13 Sherbrooke – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Number Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
Spanish 2,980 30.2 1.5
Arabic 1,350 13.7 0.7
Persian (Farsi) 755 7.7 0.4
Serbian 445 4.5 0.2
Serbo-Croatian 415 4.2 0.2
Nepali 230 2.3 0.1
Italian 215 2.2 0.1
German 210 2.1 0.1
Chinese, n.o.s. 200 2.0 0.1
Portuguese 185 1.9 0.1

Sherbrooke – Bilingualism

Table 14 Sherbrooke – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups Mother tongue
Total English French Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total 41.7 72.9 40.1 39.7
0 to 19 23.4 67.5 21.1 27.3
20 to 44 55.3 83.6 54.5 47.6
45 to 64 42.7 76.5 41.0 36.9
65 and over 37.6 59.2 35.7 44.9
Table 15 Sherbrooke – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 199,190 100.0
English only 3,060 1.5
French only 111,455 56.0
English and French 83,855 42.1
Neither English nor French 815 0.4

Symbols:

···
not applicable
†
excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A
adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E
use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.


Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.
 

Related data:

Date modified: