Photo: Dan Huntington from Anacortes, WA · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of Indigenous residents than 97% of Canadian towns: 21%
One-person households make up 37%, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Higher than in 88% of Canadian towns: 17% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. The 2021 Census found 1,790 households in Port Hardy; by July 2025 the population was about 4,201. The share of renter households stands at 32%.
What stands out about the people of Port Hardy
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
21% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 97% of Canadian towns; 15% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Port Hardy went from 4,132 people in 2016 to 3,902 in 2021, −6%: slower growth than in 97% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Port Hardy has changed by −6%, slower than 97% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 8% higher again.
In Port Hardy, 9.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 70% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
No age band is larger than 55–59: nearly one in ten residents. The median age in Port Hardy is 42.8, higher than in 54% of Canadian towns. Set beside that, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. Here 20% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 19%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Port Hardy, 42.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
Smaller households than 74% of Canadian towns: 2.2 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families in Port Hardy.
Above 76% 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
Single and never married: 30% of adults, against a typical 27%. Here, 37% of residents 15 and over are married. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%.
56% of households live in a single-detached house, below 60% of Canadian towns
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
6.4% of homes were built before 1961 and 3.9% in 2001 or later. For households in single-detached houses, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 64%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys make up 0.8%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
$69,000 a year is the median household income here
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $69,000, the middle household in Port Hardy earned 20% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns the median is $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 25% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
9.3% of residents are immigrants
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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Across Canada’s towns, 17% of residents are immigrants; in Port Hardy, 9.3%. The census found that 2.6% of residents are not Canadian citizens here.
Port Hardy: 70% of residents said they have no religion, above 99% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 63% of Canadian towns: 7%. Measured more widely, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 3.6% 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
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in Port Hardy comes in at 3.6%. 1% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 17% in Port Hardy, less than in 76% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 22% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. For comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 57%
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.
Employment here, 57%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
Youngest by rank: 19th of 41 towns of 4,144 to 4,262 people
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages climb from 31.7 (Banff Trail) to 58.4 (Barry's Bay) across the group. By median age, Port Hardy sits among Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine (41.2), Ozerna (42.5), East Angus (43.6) and Mayliewan (43.7).
A younger town than 1 of the 2 around it: Port Hardy
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. No closer places have figures: these lie 33–146 km from Port Hardy.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Hardy | 4,201 | — | 42.8 | 20% | 9.3% |
| Port McNeill | 2,402 | 32.8 km | 41.6 | 17% | 8.5% |
| Gold River | 1,339 | 146.1 km | 56.4 | 31% | 11% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
Questions about Port Hardy’s residents
What religion are people in Port Hardy?
26% are Christian and 70% have no religion; 3.9% follow another religion.
Is Port Hardy good for families?
Under 15: 17% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 41% of households. One-parent families: 9.5%. Schools near Port Hardy are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Port Hardy?
The median household in Port Hardy took in $69,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Port Hardy?
Port Hardy had about 4,201 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,902, 6% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Port Hardy?
A median age of 42.8, older than 54% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 17%, and people 65 and over 20%.
Is Port Hardy bilingual?
3.6% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 96% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1%.
How diverse is Port Hardy?
9.3% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 7% belong to a visible minority and 21% have an Indigenous identity.
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).