Photo: Amakuha · CC BY 4.0Above 99% of Canadian towns: 37% of residents have an Indigenous identity
The share of one-parent families tops 98% of Canadian towns: 16%. Here, 48% of households rent their home. Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in 83% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census put St. John's’s population at 8,492, in 3,255 households.
What stands out about the people of St. John's
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 37% of residents, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 21% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of St. John's is 35.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 20% are under 15 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
St. John's is younger than 88% of Canadian towns: a median age of 35.6
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; St. John's has 20%. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are scarce here: 11%, fewer than in 89% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ St. John's, 35.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 67% of Canadian towns: 2.6 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-person households make up 30%, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Shared houses stand out: 8.9% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 94% of Canadian towns.
29% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 91% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
44% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. For St. John's, the census puts common-law partners at 13%. Set beside that, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of households in buildings of five or more storeys than 68% of Canadian towns, at 3.1%
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
The share of households in single-detached houses is 59%, against 64% across Canada’s towns. 75% of homes were built before 1961 and 2% in 2001 or later.
Half above, half below $63,400 a year in household income
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $63,400, the middle household in St. John's earned 26% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Manitoba’s towns, the typical figure is $83,000. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 37% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
Above 64% of Canadian towns: 8.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens
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 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Of the immigrants living here, 45% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. On the census count, 22% of residents are immigrants. Against that, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns.
Above 81% of Canadian towns: 46% of residents said they have no religion
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 26% in St. John's. For comparison, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 73%, and 4.4% speak French as well
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
At 0.6%, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. 13% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 1% speak neither official language. On bilingual residents, St. John's sits lower than 82% of Canadian towns: 4.4%.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 75% of Canadian towns, at 17%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 22%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 53%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 53%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 11% of residents are 65 or over.
7th lowest median age among 41 towns of 8,371 to 8,612
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages here range from 30.2 in Garneau to 60.8 in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo. By median age, St. John's sits among Trinity Commons (33), Wildfield (35.2), Wild Rose (36.4) and West Centretown (36.6).
Around St. John's, 5 of 6 towns have a higher median age
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 8,492 | — | 35.6 | 11% | 22% |
| Luxton | 3,047 | 0.7 km | 37.9 | 13% | 11% |
| Inkster-Faraday | 3,700 | 1.1 km | 38.1 | 13% | 40% |
| William Whyte | 11,432 | 1.4 km | 33.3 | 11% | 28% |
| Seven Oaks | 3,244 | 1.6 km | 40.3 | 16% | 19% |
| Jefferson | 11,524 | 1.6 km | 40.2 | 16% | 30% |
| North Point Douglas | 2,670 | 1.7 km | 41.8 | 21% | 16% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
- 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.
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
Questions about St. John's’s residents
How diverse is St. John's?
22% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 26% belong to a visible minority and 37% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in St. John's?
49% are Christian and 46% have no religion; 4.4% follow another religion.
Is St. John's good for families?
Under 15: 20% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 34% of households. One-parent families: 16%. Schools near St. John's are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in St. John's?
The median household in St. John's took in $63,400 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of St. John's?
St. John's had 8,492 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in St. John's?
A median age of 35.6, younger than 88% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 20%, and people 65 and over 11%.
Is St. John's bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.4% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.6% grew up with French.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).