Photo: U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada · Public domainHalf of Thompson is under 31, younger than 99% of Canadian towns
Three in five immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Thompson is home to some 12,917 people (July 2025 estimate), in 4,675 households at the 2021 Census. In Thompson, 47% of households rent their home. Compared with other places, one-parent families are common here: 13%, more than in 94% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Thompson
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
46% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 36% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 5.2% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Thompson is 31; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 26% are under 15 and 7.4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Thompson went from 13,678 people in 2016 to 13,035 in 2021, −5%: slower growth than in 96% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Thompson has changed by −5%, slower than 96% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +4% across Manitoba’s towns. By July 2025, Statistics Canada’s estimate had barely moved.
Thompson sits below 97% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (7.4%)
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The largest age band is 5–9: 8.7% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Canada’s towns. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Across Thompson, just over a quarter of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Thompson, 31. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.8 people per household, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households is 27%; Thompson has 25%.
15% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 38% of adults, against a typical 27%. As a yardstick, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Thompson: 3.2% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, above 69% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
One in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Households in single-detached houses: nearly half of the total.
Median gross household income: $96,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Thompson’s median household took in $96,000 before tax, 12% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $83,000 is the median household income across Manitoba’s towns. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 26% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Thompson: 16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 83% of Canadian towns
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
Set against 17% across Canada’s towns, 13% of residents are immigrants in Thompson. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%. Here, nearly one in ten residents are not Canadian citizens.
Indigenous residents: 46%, a higher share than 99% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Hindu (5.1%) and Sikh (3.1%). Set beside that, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. 47% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 81% of Canadian towns. At 15%, the share of visible minority residents is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
78% have English as their mother tongue; 5.9% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
8.8% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.7% speak neither official language. Thompson has fewer bilingual residents than 64% of Canadian towns, at 5.9%. Little separates the share of residents whose mother tongue is French here, 1.5%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
24% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 56% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 18% (typical 9.5%). As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 62% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
62% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
The 1st youngest of 41 towns of 12,652 to 13,184 people
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
They run from Thompson, at 31, to North Saanich, at 56.8. In age, Thompson keeps company with Yonge-Bay Corridor (31.2) and Lloydminster (Part) (32).
1 in 5 nearby towns have a higher median age than Thompson
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. No closer places have figures: these lie 64–144 km from Thompson.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson | 12,917 | — | 31 | 7.4% | 13% |
| Nelson House 170 | 2,723 | 64.3 km | 23.2 | 5.8% | 0% |
| Cross Lake 19A | 2,396 | 121.2 km | 21 | 5.6% | 0% |
| Split Lake 171 | 2,462 | 122.1 km | 21.2 | 4% | 0% |
| Cross Lake 19 | 1,882 | 125.5 km | 24.6 | 6.2% | 0% |
| Division No. 22, Unorganized | 2,223 | 143.9 km | 32.8 | 13% | 1.9% |
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 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. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Thompson’s residents
What religion are people in Thompson?
Christian: 42%. No religion: 47%. Another religion: 11%.
Is Thompson good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 26%. 44% of households are couple families and 13% one-parent families. Schools near Thompson are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Thompson?
$96,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Thompson (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Thompson?
Statistics Canada estimates 12,917 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 13,035 in Thompson, 5% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Thompson?
31 is the median age, younger than 99% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 26%. 65 and over: 7.4%.
Is Thompson bilingual?
English and French: 5.9% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 93%. French only: 0.1%. French mother tongue: 1.5%.
How diverse is Thompson?
Immigrants make up 13% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 15% are members of a visible minority, and 46% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
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).