At the time of the 2006 National Census, Elhayi's population was 3,741 in 546 households, when it was a village in Elhayi Rural District. The following census in 2011 counted 5,103 people in 1,091 households. The 2016 census measured the population as 7,651 people in 1,905 households, by which time the village of Elhayi had merged with the village of Qaleh-ye Sahar and was elevated to the status of a city.
↑Rahimi, Mohammadreza (15 January 2013) [Approved 19 July 1391]. Approval letter regarding national divisions in Khuzestan province(PDF). rrk.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Political and Defense Commission. Resolution 158802/T38854AH; Notification 205939/T45312H. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.