Photo: jasonwoodhead23 · CC BY 2.0Half of Fort St. John is under 32.4, younger than 97% of Canadian towns
58% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Renter households account for 42%. Residents with no religion are more common here than in 94% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 24,383 residents; the 2021 Census found 8,780 households.
What stands out about the people of Fort St. John
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 13% of residents, more than in 92% of Canadian towns, and 5.1% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Line Fort St. John’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 32.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 21% are under 15 and 8.3% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
19% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 1.8 times the typical share; 53% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A +6% change since 2016: Fort St. John grew faster than 62% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 14%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 8.3% in Fort St. John, less than in 96% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 14%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Fort St. John, 32.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women.
Fort St. John: 31% of households are one person living alone, above 64% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 7.4% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 89% of Canadian towns. Set beside that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. Census figures put one-parent families at 9.2% in Fort St. John. Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of common-law partners than 77% of Canadian towns, at 15%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Here 40% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 46%. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Fewer households in single-detached houses than 68% of Canadian towns: 50%
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
With households in buildings of five or more storeys at 1.7%, Fort St. John is ahead of 63% of Canadian towns on that count. Households in single-detached houses make up 64% across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 37% date from 2001 or later, 6.5% from before 1961.
Half of households earn more than $102,000 a year
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
At $102,000, the middle household in Fort St. John out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 19%. The median across British Columbia’s towns is $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 28% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Fort St. John: 19% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 92% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Here 12% of residents are immigrants, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 17%. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across Canada’s towns: 11%. On the census count, one in ten residents are not Canadian citizens.
More Indigenous residents than 92% of Canadian towns: 13%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Sikh (2.3%). Against that, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 16% in Fort St. John.
English is the mother tongue of 84%, and 4.8% speak French as well
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home, 6.4% mostly speak another language; 0.4% speak neither English nor French. Fort St. John has fewer bilingual residents than 77% of Canadian towns, at 4.8%. 0.9% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Only 21% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Fort St. John
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 13%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Against that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 69% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 69%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
In its size band (23,355 to 25,496), the 1st youngest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest of these towns is Fort St. John, at 32.4; the oldest, White Rock, is at 58. The closest ages to Fort St. John’s belong to Mile End (34.1) and Brownsville (34.6).
Every neighbour of Fort St. John has an older population
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort St. John | 24,383 | — | 32.4 | 8.3% | 12% |
| Electoral Area C, Peace River | 6,344 | 4.4 km | 40.4 | 13% | 5.8% |
| Taylor | 1,415 | 13.4 km | 35.6 | 11% | 3.4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across British Columbia’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
- 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.
Questions about Fort St. John’s residents
What is the population of Fort St. John?
The latest figure is an estimate: 24,383 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Fort St. John counted 21,465, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Fort St. John?
Half the residents are older than 32.4 and half younger, younger than 97% of Canadian towns; 21% are children under 15 and 8.3% are 65 or over.
Is Fort St. John bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.8% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Fort St. John?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 12%. A visible minority makes up 16% and Indigenous residents 13%.
What religion are people in Fort St. John?
Most often Christian (36%) or no religion (58%); other religions make up 6.2%.
Is Fort St. John good for families?
Children under 15 are 21% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 47% of households and one-parent families 9.2%. Schools near Fort St. John are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Fort St. John?
Median total household income in Fort St. John was $102,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).