Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Half of Garneau is under 30.2, younger than 99% of Canadian towns
Households in buildings of five or more storeys: 50%, above 95% of Canadian towns. Garneau counted 8,492 residents and 4,590 households at the 2021 Census. Residents aged 15 to 24: nearly a quarter of the total. One-person households are more common here than in 96% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Garneau
Younger than most towns
Garneau’s median age is 30.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 7.5% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A neighbourhood of renters
Renters are 74% of households, more than in 97% of Canadian towns, and 84% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
A neighbourhood people move to
A year before the census, 32% of residents lived elsewhere, 3 times the typical share; over five years, 67% moved. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Many graduates
A bachelor’s degree or higher is held by 72% of 25- to 64-year-olds, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and a master’s by 24%. Qualifications ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
In Garneau, 7.5% of residents are under 15, fewer than in 98% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 13%, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Typically, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Garneau, 30.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
1.8 people per household, fewer than in 97% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, 8.2% of households are one-parent families; in Garneau, 2.9%. Shared houses stand out: 16% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 99% of Canadian towns.
Garneau sits below 95% of Canadian towns for married residents 15 and over (27%)
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
11% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
More renter households than 97% of Canadian towns: 74%
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
19% of homes were built before 1961 and 16% in 2001 or later. Compared with other places, households in single-detached houses are scarce here: 15%, fewer than in 91% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, renter households come to 25%.
$58,500 a year: the median household income
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Garneau: half had less than $58,500, 32% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $92,200, the median across Alberta’s towns. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 31% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
32% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 99% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
23% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%). Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. On the census count, 28% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 94% of Canadian towns, at 57%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (8.9%) and Hindu (2.8%). Compared with other places, visible minority residents are common here: 44%, more than in just over four fifths of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. With Indigenous residents at 4.1%, Garneau is ahead of 63% of Canadian towns on that count.
A higher share of bilingual residents than 64% of Canadian towns, at 12%
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
At home, 19% mostly speak another language; 0.9% speak neither English nor French. As a reference point, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.3%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 72%, a higher share than 99% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 2.8% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 58% of residents aged 15 and over
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, much like this 58%.
Youngest by rank: 1st of 41 towns of 8,371 to 8,612 people
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The youngest of these towns is Garneau, at 30.2; the oldest, Electoral Area G, Nanaimo, is at 60.8. Nearest to Garneau in age: Rosewood (32.4) and Nolan Hill (32.8).
Garneau is younger than 5 of its 6 nearest neighbours
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garneau | 8,492 | — | 30.2 | 13% | 23% |
| Queen Alexandra | 5,106 | 1.0 km | 34.1 | 14% | 21% |
| McKernan | 2,880 | 1.1 km | 30 | 12% | 23% |
| Strathcona | 8,283 | 1.7 km | 35 | 14% | 19% |
| Belgravia | 5,478 | 1.9 km | 41 | 19% | 20% |
| Allendale | 2,951 | 2.2 km | 33.7 | 10% | 17% |
| Downtown | 12,880 | 2.4 km | 33.8 | 12% | 25% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada publishes the census for municipalities, not neighbourhoods, so these figures add up the dissemination areas inside the neighbourhood. Counts are sums of StatCan’s rounded counts; the median age and income are worked out from the published age and income groups; and 2016 areas don’t add up to these, so there is no 2016 count.
Questions about Garneau’s residents
Is Garneau good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 7.5%. 29% of households are couple families and 2.9% one-parent families. Schools near Garneau are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Garneau?
$58,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Garneau (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Garneau?
8,492, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for Garneau alone.
What is the average age in Garneau?
30.2 is the median age, younger than 99% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 7.5%. 65 and over: 13%.
Is Garneau bilingual?
12% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 88% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.3%.
How diverse is Garneau?
Immigrants make up 23% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 44% are members of a visible minority, and 4.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Garneau?
Christian: 28%. No religion: 57%. Another religion: 15%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).