Photo: Svhartje · CC BY-SA 3.030% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
One-parent families: 11%, above 86% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 4,048 residents; the 2021 Census found 1,825 households. On the census count, a quarter of residents are 65 or over. More renter households than in 77% of Canadian towns: 42%.
What stands out about the people of Swan River
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
30% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 14% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+1% since 2016, a pace below 71% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The estimate for July 2025 is much the same as the census count. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +4% across Manitoba’s towns.
A higher share of children under 15 than 75% of Canadian towns, at 19%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Half of Swan River’s residents are over 42.8, older than in 54% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. No age band is larger than 25–29: 6.9% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Swan River, 42.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 86% of Canadian towns: 39% of households are one person living alone
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. For one-person households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 27%.
Swan River ranks below 63% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 42%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 29% of adults, beside a typical 27%. For Swan River, the census puts common-law partners at 9%. On average, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Swan River: 67% of households live in a single-detached house, above 54% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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: 22% predate 1961, 15% date from 2001 or later. The wider picture: 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
The midpoint household income is $61,600 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Swan River’s households had a total income below $61,600, 28% 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 23% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Swan River sits above 82% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (16%)
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Most immigrants were born in Asia (50%) or in Europe (29%). 5% of residents are immigrants, a lower share than in 81% of Canadian towns. Typically, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Recent arrivals, from 2011 to 2021, are 59% of immigrants (typical: 27%); non-permanent residents add 1.8% of residents.
Residents with no religion: 42%, a higher share than 72% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents make up 7.5%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. The benchmark for residents with no religion across Canada’s towns: 35%.
87% have English as their mother tongue; 2.8% also speak French
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Across Canada’s towns, 7.5% of residents speak English and French; in Swan River, 2.8%. The census found that 0.6% of residents have French as their mother tongue here.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 22% in Swan River, less than in 63% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 14% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
An employment rate of 51%
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
51% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% are 65 or more.
Youngest by rank: 20th of 41 towns of 3,979 to 4,120 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Median ages climb from 29 (Mistissini) to 59.2 (Okanagan Falls) across the group. Closest in median age to Swan River are L'Ange-Gardien (42), Meyokumin (42.4), Templeton-Sinclair (42.9) and Saint-Prosper (44).
The towns around Swan River are all older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan River | 4,048 | — | 42.8 | 25% | 5% |
| Minitonas-Bowsman | 1,545 | 15.9 km | 44 | 20% | 4.7% |
| Swan Valley West | 2,702 | 16.3 km | 44.8 | 22% | 4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Manitoba’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Swan River’s residents
How diverse is Swan River?
5% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 7.5% belong to a visible minority and 30% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Swan River?
55% are Christian and 42% have no religion; 2.9% follow another religion.
Is Swan River good for families?
Under 15: 19% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 41% of households. One-parent families: 11%. Schools near Swan River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Swan River?
The median household in Swan River took in $61,600 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Swan River?
Swan River had about 4,048 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 4,049, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Swan River?
A median age of 42.8, older than 54% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 19%, and people 65 and over 25%.
Is Swan River bilingual?
2.8% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 97% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.6%.
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).