Photo: jasonwoodhead23 · CC BY 2.0Fort McMurray ranks below 99% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 4.3%
Of the immigrants living here, 52% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Statistics Canada puts Fort McMurray’s population at 81,611 for July 2025. Census figures put one-person households at 22% locally. On households in single-detached houses, Fort McMurray sits lower than 71% of Canadian towns: 48%. Every figure here is for Wood Buffalo as a whole, the municipality Fort McMurray belongs to.
What stands out about the people of Fort McMurray
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
11% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 89% of Canadian towns; 4.8% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Fort McMurray’s median age is 34.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 23% are under 15 and 4.3% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Fort McMurray changed by +1% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 71% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Alberta’s towns, +1%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 13%.
A median age of 34.4: Fort McMurray is younger than 92% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Nearly a quarter of residents are under 15; across Canada’s towns the figure is 16%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Fort McMurray, 34.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women.
2.8 people per household, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Locally, 7.3% of households are one-parent families.
Above 75% of Canadian towns: 15% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
28% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
More households in buildings of five or more storeys than 69% of Canadian towns: 3.3%
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
57% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 1.3% built before 1961. Fort McMurray has more renter households than 64% of Canadian towns, at 33%.
$184,000 a year: the median household income
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
At $184,000, the middle household in Fort McMurray out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 114%. Across Alberta’s towns the median is $92,200. The pandemic’s benefits: 31% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
More residents who moved in within the year than 75% of Canadian towns: 14%
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
In Fort McMurray, just over a fifth of residents are immigrants, beside 17% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%. The census found that 9.6% of residents are not Canadian citizens locally.
11% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 89% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The figure for visible minority residents is 27% in Fort McMurray and 15% across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. Residents with no religion: 36% of the total.
76% have English as their mother tongue; 6% also speak French
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
10% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.7% speak neither official language. Fewer bilingual residents than in 63% of Canadian towns: 6%. Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.9%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Below 60% of Canadian towns: 22% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 6.9% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
70% of adults were employed in May 2021
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 70%.
Youngest by rank: 2nd of 41 towns of 61,739 to 108,793 people
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
At one end is Grande Prairie (34), at the other Lindsay (51.6). By median age, Fort McMurray sits among Grande Prairie (34), Airdrie (35.6) and Mirabel (37.2).
The places around Fort McMurray
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Fort McMurray has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 125 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort McMurray | 81,611 | — | 34.4 | 4.3% | 22% |
| La Loche | 3,124 | 125.2 km | 25.6 | 4.8% | 0.4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
Questions about Fort McMurray’s residents
Is Fort McMurray bilingual?
6% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0.1% speak French only and 93% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.9%.
How diverse is Fort McMurray?
22% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 27% belong to a visible minority and 11% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Fort McMurray?
53% are Christian and 36% have no religion; 11% follow another religion.
Is Fort McMurray good for families?
Under 15: 23% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 54% of households. One-parent families: 7.3%. Schools near Fort McMurray are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Fort McMurray?
The median household in Fort McMurray took in $184,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Fort McMurray?
Fort McMurray had about 81,611 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 72,326, 1% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Fort McMurray?
A median age of 34.4, younger than 92% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 23%, and people 65 and over 4.3%.
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).