Photo: David Abercrombie · CC BY-SA 2.0Indigenous residents: 15%, a higher share than 93% of Canadian towns
14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; across Canada’s towns the figure is 11%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 2,402 residents; the 2021 Census found 1,020 households. Immigrants account for 8.5%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Port McNeill
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
15% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 93% of Canadian towns; 7.2% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Port McNeill has changed by +1%, slower than 72% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 2% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, by more than +6%.
17% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 60% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The median age in Port McNeill is 41.6, lower than in 53% of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Children under 15: 17% of the total.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Port McNeill households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 64% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-person households is 29%, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 7.8% of households are one-parent families.
Port McNeill: 18% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 82% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: nearly a quarter of adults (typical: 27%). Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns. The census found that 44% of residents 15 and over are married in Port McNeill.
Renter households make up 30% in Port McNeill, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
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
5.4% of homes were built before 1961 and 4.9% in 2001 or later. Compared with other places, households in single-detached houses are common here: 72%, more than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns. Renter households: 25% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Half above, half below $87,000 a year in household income
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Port McNeill’s households had a total income above $87,000 and half below, close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $87,000, the median across British Columbia’s towns. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 22% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
8.5% of residents are immigrants
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
Residents without Canadian citizenship: 1.9% here and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Europe (41%) or in the Americas (31%).
Residents with no religion make up 66% in Port McNeill, more than in 98% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 5.5% in Port McNeill. The share of residents with no religion across Canada’s towns is 35%.
93% have English as their mother tongue; 2.5% also speak French
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
The share of bilingual residents trails 96% of Canadian towns: 2.5%. Across Port McNeill, 1.1% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Below 80% of Canadian towns: 16% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 13% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 61%
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
61% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
Every neighbour of Port McNeill has an older population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. The nearest places to Port McNeill with figures are 33–153 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port McNeill | 2,402 | — | 41.6 | 17% | 8.5% |
| Port Hardy | 4,201 | 32.8 km | 42.8 | 20% | 9.3% |
| Gold River | 1,339 | 115.4 km | 56.4 | 31% | 11% |
| Electoral Area C, Strathcona | 2,981 | 144.4 km | 58.4 | 37% | 19% |
| Campbell River | 38,300 | 145.8 km | 48 | 26% | 11% |
| Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona | 4,546 | 153.4 km | 52 | 26% | 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. “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 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 McNeill’s residents
Is Port McNeill bilingual?
2.5% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 98% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.1%.
How diverse is Port McNeill?
Immigrants make up 8.5% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 5.5% are members of a visible minority, and 15% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Port McNeill?
Christian: 31%. No religion: 66%. Another religion: 3%.
Is Port McNeill good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 17%. 55% of households are couple families and 7.8% one-parent families. Schools near Port McNeill are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Port McNeill?
$87,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Port McNeill (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Port McNeill?
Statistics Canada estimates 2,402 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 2,356 in Port McNeill, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Port McNeill?
41.6 is the median age. Under 15: 17%. 65 and over: 17%.
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).