Swan RiverManitoba
4,048 residents make their home in this town in Manitoba. Its census division is Division No. 20.
Is Swan River a good place to live?
Strong in places, weak in others. Crime is the sore point (D−). Walkability is its strong suit (A). The typical owner put their home at $200,000 in 2021: 3.3 years of the median household’s income. Overall, that makes a C, better than 28% of Canadian towns. That places it #124 of 181 in Manitoba. Its other grades sit near the middle: B− for health and C+ for jobs & income.
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Swan River grades
Each subject compares Swan River with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Swan River stand out
The 3 things Swan River does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Swan River.
Swan River’s Violent Crime Severity Index, 403, runs above Manitoba’s towns and Canadian towns
Property crime accounts for 263.5 incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 56.4 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Manitoba’s towns (18) and Canadian towns (12).
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 403 | 198 | 86 |
| Violent crime | 56.4 | 18 | 12 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 263.5 | 58.8 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Swan River and its edges hold 5 schools: 4 elementary schools and 1 secondary school
From the middle of town, the first elementary school is 15 km off, above both Manitoba’s towns (0.5 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km). Counting each board with a school within 3 km gives 2, below both Manitoba’s towns (6) and Canadian towns (3).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Bible Fellowship ChristianIn Swan RiverElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Swan Valley Regional Secondary SchoolIn Swan RiverSecondary | Secondary | – | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Nearest elementary school | 15 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · Source note: the province publishes no results school by school, so there’s no schools grade in Manitoba.
Swan River has cooler summers than Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: July highs of 24.8°C
A normal June brings 106 mm of precipitation, more than any other month. The year’s precipitation totals 658 mm, between Manitoba’s towns (519 mm) and Canadian towns (883 mm). Midwinter nights in Swan River bottom out at −21.2°C on average. Most of the snow comes in November, about 36 cm.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days with frost a year | 203 | 193 | 159 |
| Snowfall a year | 177 cm | 126 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −21.2°C | −21.2°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 24.8°C | 25.8°C | 25.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Mafeking)
Around Swan River, 43% of tested homes have radon above the guideline
Area-wide: radon tests, counted over the Parkland health region
Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.006 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Flood mapping: none on the national inventory for Swan River.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 43% | 12% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.006 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Trips to work from Swan River are shorter than from Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 12 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 12 min | 24 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · These are May 2021 figures, gathered while COVID-19 kept many people home or out of work.
Renting in Swan River costs 17% of household income, less than in Manitoba’s towns and across Canadian towns
14% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, below Manitoba’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 17% | 20% | 20% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $200,000 | $300,000 | $406,000 |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 14% | 15% | 18% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · These are 2021 census values, as owners judged them, set against household income in 2020.
In Swan River, November normally means −2°C afternoons and −10°C nights
A normal December brings highs of −9°C, lows of −18°C. November normally sees 39 mm of precipitation. July brings the warmest days, 25°C; January the coldest nights, −21°C. The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Swan River.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −9°C | −19°C | 71 mm |
| Spring | 8°C | −4°C | 128 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 11°C | 301 mm |
| Autumn | 8°C | −2°C | 157 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Mafeking); the forecast is on the Weather page
Swan River sends Dan Mazier (Conservative Party of Canada) to the Commons from Riding Mountain
7 of the 14 MPs from Manitoba belong to the Conservative Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
North-West Regional Library is Swan River’s public library
The library is 0.1 km from the centre of Swan River.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
None of the land within 10 km of Swan River is protected
A provincial park, Duck Mountain Provincial Park, lies 23 km away. Within 100 km there is no national park.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 0% | 1.1% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
More of Swan River’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 30%
Children under 15 make up 19%, above Manitoba’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (16%) alike. People 65 and over make up 25% of the town.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
53.2% of Swan River’s residents are women
Of the 2021 count, 2,155 were women and 1,895 men (women across Canada: 50.9%).
| Swan River | Manitoba | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 56% | 64% | 64% |
| 65+ | 25% | 17% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 26% | 16% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 45% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Manitoba and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Swan River’s region trails the typical Canadian town by 2.7 years: life expectancy 78.8
The town’s own part is the trip to care, and Swan River is well placed: 0.7 km to a hospital on average, against 3.7 km typical. The survey counts 15% of adults as smokers, above Manitoba’s towns (10%) and Canadian towns (12%) alike. In the health survey, just over half of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, close to Manitoba’s 51%. For health survey and life expectancy, the only official count covers all of the Prairie Mountain Health Region, Swan River included.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Swan River | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 15% | 10% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.8 | 80.0 | 81.5 |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Everything we know about Swan River
Famous people from Swan River
10 notable people were born in Swan River.
Photo credits
Sven Delblanc: Unknown author, Public domain · Barry Brust: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0 · Michael Ferland: Resolute, CC BY-SA 4.0 · David MacLennan: Maclennan, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Swan River
Town in Manitoba
TownRatings follows Statistics Canada’s map: Swan River is one municipality in Manitoba, figures and all.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 4,048 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Manitoba
- Census division
- Division No. 20
- Census subdivision
- 4620048
Swan River’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan River | 4,048 | — | C | B | D− | B− |
| Minitonas-Bowsman | 1,545 | 16 | — | A+ | D | C |
| Swan Valley West | 2,702 | 16 | B− | A | D | C+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Swan River
Who are the people of Swan River?
8% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 30% have an Indigenous identity and 5% are immigrants.
Has Swan River grown?
It grew from 4,014 people in 2016 to 4,049 in 2021, up 0.9%; the median of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. StatCan’s 2025 estimate is 4,048.
What kind of homes are in Swan River?
67% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2.2 people; 39% are one person living alone.
How old are the people of Swan River?
At 42.8, its median age compares with 45.2 across Canadian towns. Children make up 19% of the population and seniors 25%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).