Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Prince Rupert: 37% of residents have an Indigenous identity, above 99% of Canadian towns
The median age in Prince Rupert is 39.6, lower than in 66% of Canadian towns. The town had about 12,903 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 5,070 households at the 2021 Census. Renter households: 38% of the total. 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns, against 31% in the town.
What stands out about the people of Prince Rupert
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
37% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 29% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+1% since 2016: slower than 72% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns. The July 2025 estimate adds another 5%.
Below 65% of Canadian towns: 16% of residents are 65 or over
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 here. As a yardstick, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Prince Rupert, 39.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women.
One-parent families: 9.8%, a higher share than 73% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Prince Rupert, 2.4. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
16% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 78% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
38% of residents 15 and over are married, against 46% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
Below 60% of Canadian towns: 57% of households live in a single-detached house
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
14% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. By way of comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. For Prince Rupert, the census puts households in buildings of five or more storeys at 1.1%.
Median household income: $95,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run high in Prince Rupert: half had more than $95,000, 10% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 24% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 12% in Prince Rupert, more than in 63% 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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (57%) and in Europe (29%). Set beside that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Against a figure of 17% across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants in Prince Rupert comes in at 13%.
Prince Rupert ranks above 93% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 56%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Sikh (3.4%). The share of residents with no religion across Canada’s towns is 35%. Nothing unusual on visible minority residents: 15%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
84% have English as their mother tongue; 4.5% 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
At home, 6.1% mostly speak another language; 1.1% speak neither English nor French. On bilingual residents, Prince Rupert sits lower than 81% of Canadian towns: 4.5%. There is little gap on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.7%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Prince Rupert sits below 69% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (19%)
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 17% (typical 9.5%). As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
61% of residents 15 and over were in work
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.
The employment rate of 61% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The 16th youngest of 41 towns of 12,639 to 13,181 people
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages here range from 31 in Thompson to 56.8 in North Saanich. Nearest to Prince Rupert in age: Carrville Corners (38.2), Centre-Ville (38.9), Albert Park (40) and Stratford (40.4).
Nearby, 3 of 5 towns have older populations than Prince Rupert
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. No closer places have figures: these lie 112–117 km from Prince Rupert.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Rupert | 12,903 | — | 39.6 | 16% | 13% |
| Kitimat | 10,019 | 112.2 km | 42.4 | 17% | 17% |
| Terrace | 13,648 | 113.2 km | 38 | 16% | 9.6% |
| Electoral Area C (Part 1), Kitimat-Stikine | 3,189 | 113.8 km | 44.8 | 18% | 8.4% |
| Nisga'a | 1,803 | 114.6 km | 39.2 | 17% | 0% |
| Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine | 4,153 | 117.2 km | 41.2 | 17% | 5.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 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.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Prince Rupert’s residents
What is the average age in Prince Rupert?
39.6 is the median age, younger than 66% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 17%. 65 and over: 16%.
Is Prince Rupert bilingual?
English and French: 4.5% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 0.7%.
How diverse is Prince Rupert?
Immigrants make up 13% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 15% are members of a visible minority, and 37% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Prince Rupert?
Christian: 36%. No religion: 56%. Another religion: 8.4%.
Is Prince Rupert good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 17%. 45% of households are couple families and 9.8% one-parent families. Schools near Prince Rupert are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Prince Rupert?
$95,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Prince Rupert (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Prince Rupert?
Statistics Canada estimates 12,903 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 12,300 in Prince Rupert, about the same as 2016.
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).