Photo: Dr Wilson · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 54: Edmundston is older than 93% of Canadian towns
Residents with no religion make up 12%, against 35% across Canada’s towns. Locally, just over one in ten residents are under 15. 3.9% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 85% of Canadian towns. With about 18,174 residents in July 2025, Edmundston counted 7,705 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Edmundston
A French-speaking community
French is the mother tongue of 90% of residents, more than in 90% of Canadian towns. 63% can speak English and French, and 92% use French most at home. English & French ↓
A bilingual town
Both official languages: 63% of residents speak English and French, more than in 96% of Canadian towns. Another 35% speak only French and 2.4% only English. English & French ↓
Older than most towns
Edmundston’s median age is 54; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 31% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 40%, more than in 88% of Canadian towns, and 31% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Above 96% of Canadian towns: 63% of residents speak English and French
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 90% here and 1.5% across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Edmundston changed by −1% from 2016 to 2021, behind 85% 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
Across New Brunswick’s towns the median is +3%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 11%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 31% in Edmundston, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 9.3% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in 81% of Canadian towns. Typically, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Edmundston, 54. 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.
40% of households are one person living alone, a share 88% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. On average, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. Here, 7.3% of households are one-parent families.
A larger share of common-law partners than 81% of Canadian towns: 17%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
By its share of married residents 15 and over (37%), Edmundston is below 74% of Canadian towns. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Renter households: 35%, a higher share than 67% of Canadian towns
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
30% of homes were built before 1961 and 12% in 2001 or later. The comparison figure for renter households is 25% across Canada’s towns. Few places have as many households in buildings of five or more storeys: 1.6% here, more than in 63% of Canadian towns. Set against 64% across Canada’s towns, 59% of households live in a single-detached house in Edmundston.
Half of households earn more than $58,400 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
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Edmundston’s, at $58,400, is 32% lower. Across New Brunswick’s towns the median is $73,300. In 2020, 23% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Only 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Edmundston
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
Most recent wave: 51% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). For Edmundston, the census puts residents without Canadian citizenship at 4.1%. Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
86% said they are Christian and 12% that they have no religion
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here 3.9% of residents belong to a visible minority, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 15%. Indigenous residents account for 2.5%.
Only 23% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Edmundston
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 9.7%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 51%
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. 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.
Ranked by age, 2nd oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
At one end is Schmidtville (29), at the other Oak Bay (54.4). The closest ages to Edmundston’s belong to Port Hope (50.8), Bracebridge (51.2) and Oak Bay (54.4).
Edmundston is older than every town around it
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmundston | 18,174 | — | 54 | 31% | 3.9% |
| Saint-Jacques | 1,763 | 8.1 km | 52.4 | 24% | 2.7% |
| Saint-Joseph | 1,641 | 8.2 km | 48.8 | 22% | 1.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of New Brunswick’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- 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. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Edmundston’s residents
What is the average age in Edmundston?
Half the residents are older than 54 and half younger, older than 93% of Canadian towns; 11% are children under 15 and 31% are 65 or over.
Is Edmundston bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 63% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 2.4% speak only English and 35% only French; 90% grew up with French.
How diverse is Edmundston?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 3.9%. A visible minority makes up 3.9% and Indigenous residents 2.5%.
What religion are people in Edmundston?
Most often Christian (86%) or no religion (12%); other religions make up 1.6%.
Is Edmundston good for families?
Children under 15 are 11% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 48% of households and one-parent families 7.3%. Schools near Edmundston are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Edmundston?
Median total household income in Edmundston was $58,400 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Edmundston?
The latest figure is an estimate: 18,174 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Edmundston counted 16,437, about the same as 2016.
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).