Photo: Carsten Hanebaum · Public domain13% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 92% of Canadian towns
Recent arrivals are three quarters of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. More residents aged 65 and over than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns: 24%. About 2,715 people lived in Russell in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Locally, 83% of households live in a single-detached house. The census figures here are for the whole of Russell-Binscarth, the municipality that includes Russell.
What stands out about the people of Russell
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
13% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 92% of Canadian towns; 2.5% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+6% since 2016, a pace 64% of Canadian towns didn’t match
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
The July 2025 estimate adds another 5%. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +4% across Manitoba’s towns.
Above 71% of Canadian towns: 18% of residents are under 15
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The largest age band is 55–59: 6.9% of residents. Across the comparison, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. Half of Russell’s residents are over 43.2, older than in 57% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Russell, 43.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
33% of households are one person living alone, more than in 71% of Canadian towns
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
At 2.3 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Measured more widely, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. One-parent families: 7.6% of the total.
In Russell, 53% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 71% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 22% of adults, beside a typical 27%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Russell, the census puts common-law partners at 9.2%.
19% of households rent their home, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
Older homes outnumber new: 25% predate 1961, 14% date from 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
The midpoint household income is $80,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Russell: half had less than $80,000, 7% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Manitoba’s towns, half of households had more than $83,000 before tax. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 18% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 76% of Canadian towns: 8.7%
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
By its share of residents without Canadian citizenship (8.4%), Russell is above 62% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 30%, a lower share than 66% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here, 12% of residents belong to a visible minority. On religion, 69% answered Christian and 30% no religion, against 54% and 35% across Canada’s towns.
87% have English as their mother tongue; 3.7% also speak French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Where 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, Russell has 3.7%. Locally, 1.8% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Below 68% of Canadian towns: 20% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 9.8% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
62% of residents 15 and over were in work
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 62%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Youngest by rank: 16th of 41 towns of 2,675 to 2,756 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Waskaganish is the youngest of them at 25; Eastman, at 56.8, the oldest. By median age, Russell sits among Emerson-Franklin (42), Saint-Martin (42.8), Plessisville (43.6) and Macamic (43.6).
A younger town than 1 of the 3 around it: Russell
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Russell has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 28–30 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | 2,715 | — | 43.2 | 24% | 11% |
| Riding Mountain West | 1,511 | 27.6 km | 52 | 24% | 6.6% |
| Waywayseecappo First Nation | 1,714 | 29.5 km | 21.6 | 4.6% | 0% |
| Langenburg | 1,256 | 29.8 km | 40.8 | 25% | 8.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Manitoba’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.
- 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. “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 Russell’s residents
Is Russell good for families?
Under 15: 18% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 55% of households. One-parent families: 7.6%. Schools near Russell are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Russell?
The median household in Russell took in $80,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Russell?
Russell had about 2,715 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 2,596, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Russell?
A median age of 43.2, older than 57% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 18%, and people 65 and over 24%.
Is Russell bilingual?
3.7% 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 1.8%.
How diverse is Russell?
11% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 12% belong to a visible minority and 13% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Russell?
69% are Christian and 30% have no religion; 1.4% follow another religion.
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).