Photo: Gabriel Picard · CC BY-SA 4.0A median age of 54.4: Caraquet is older than 94% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Caraquet, 2.1. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 4,572 for July 2025. The census found that 11% of residents said they have no religion in the town. 8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 89% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Caraquet
A French-speaking community
French is the mother tongue of 96% of residents, more than in 94% of Canadian towns. 53% can speak English and French, and 97% use French most at home. English & French ↓
A bilingual town
Both official languages: 53% of residents speak English and French, more than in 91% of Canadian towns. Another 46% speak only French and 1% only English. English & French ↓
Older than most towns
Line Caraquet’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 54.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 31% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Caraquet: 96% of residents have French as their mother tongue, above 94% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. 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 home: English 2%, French 97%. Caraquet has more bilingual residents than 91% of Canadian towns, at 53%. The share of residents whose mother tongue is French across Canada’s towns is 1.5%.
A +1% change since 2016: slower than 71% of Canadian towns
The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 7% higher again. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across New Brunswick’s towns, +3%.
Caraquet: 31% of residents are 65 or over, above 94% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
In Caraquet, 10% of residents are under 15, beside 16% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 19% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Caraquet, 54.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
One-person households: 36%, a higher share than 79% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The figure for one-parent families is 9.3% in Caraquet and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone.
More common-law partners than 84% of Canadian towns: 20%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 27% of adults (typical: 27%). Married residents 15 and over: 33% of the total. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Caraquet ranks above 65% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 75%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, households in single-detached houses come to 64%. Older homes outnumber new: 18% predate 1961, 16% date from 2001 or later. A quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, against 26% in Caraquet.
The middle household earns $65,500 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Caraquet had $65,500 before tax, 24% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within New Brunswick’s towns, the household in the middle had $73,300. Pandemic benefits reached 26% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Caraquet ranks below 73% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 8.9%
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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
60% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. The share of immigrants stands at 1.8%. At 1%, the share of residents without Canadian citizenship is lower than in 89% of Canadian towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
3.4% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 57% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (1.8%), Caraquet is below 87% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
A higher share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 56% of Canadian towns, at 30%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 13%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Employment: 51% of residents 15 and over had a job
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.
With 31% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 51% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The 1st oldest of 41 towns of 4,483 to 4,657 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The youngest of these towns is Fairfield Park, at 31.6; the oldest, Caraquet, is at 54.4. Next to Caraquet on this scale come Berthierville (52.4) and Shelburne (54.4).
5 of the 6 nearest towns are older than Caraquet
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caraquet | 4,572 | — | 54.4 | 31% | 1.8% |
| Bas-Caraquet | 1,391 | 8.2 km | 58 | 34% | 0.8% |
| Caraquet | 1,263 | 10.8 km | 55.6 | 30% | 0.8% |
| Bertrand | 1,209 | 11.9 km | 56 | 32% | 1.3% |
| Inkerman | 2,462 | 15.2 km | 55.2 | 30% | 0.7% |
| Shippagan | 3,073 | 17.7 km | 51.2 | 28% | 1.4% |
| Paquetville | 2,225 | 19.1 km | 54.8 | 27% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: New Brunswick’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- 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 Caraquet’s residents
What is the median income in Caraquet?
Half of Caraquet’s households had more than $65,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Caraquet?
About 4,572, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 4,285 people in Caraquet, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Caraquet?
The median age is 54.4, older than 94% of Canadian towns. 10% are under 15 and 31% 65 or older.
Is Caraquet bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 53% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 1% speak only English and 46% only French; 96% grew up with French.
How diverse is Caraquet?
Immigrants: 1.8% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 1.8%. Indigenous identity: 3.4%.
What religion are people in Caraquet?
11% said they have no religion and 89% that they are Christian; 0.6% named another faith.
Is Caraquet good for families?
10% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 48% of households and one-parent families 9.3%. Schools near Caraquet are on its Schools page.
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).