Photo: Erj1211 · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 52: Eel River Crossing is older than 90% of Canadian towns
By its share of residents with no religion (14%), Eel River Crossing is below 95% of Canadian towns. On the census count, just over one in ten residents are under 15. Few places have as many households in single-detached houses: 89% here, more than in 87% of Canadian towns. This New Brunswick town is home to some 1,918 people (July 2025 estimate), in 840 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Eel River Crossing
A bilingual town
Both official languages: 72% of residents speak English and French, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. Another 19% speak only French and 9.1% only English. English & French ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Eel River Crossing went from 1,953 to 1,844 residents (−6%), slower growth than in 97% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Eel River Crossing’s residents are under 52 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A higher share of bilingual residents than 99% of Canadian towns, at 72%
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. 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
Compared with 1.5% across Canada’s towns, four in five residents have French as their mother tongue here. The comparison figure for bilingual residents is 7.5% across Canada’s towns.
−6% since 2016: slower than 97% 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 Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across New Brunswick’s towns, +3%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 76% of Canadian towns: 24%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are rarer here than in just over two thirds of Canadian towns. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Eel River Crossing households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 74% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
In Eel River Crossing, one in ten households are one-parent families, beside 8.2% across Canada’s towns. 30% of households are one person living alone.
Common-law partners: 16%, a higher share than 80% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over a quarter of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). The share of married residents 15 and over stands at 43%. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Renter households: 11%, a lower share than 86% 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of renter households is 25%. Older homes outnumber new: 19% predate 1961, 7.7% date from 2001 or later. 8.9% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
$62,400 a year is the median household income here
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Eel River Crossing’s households had a total income below $62,400, 27% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across New Brunswick’s towns has $73,300 before tax. COVID-19 benefits went to 25% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 87% of Canadian towns: 7.5%
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
By its share of residents without Canadian citizenship (0.6%), Eel River Crossing is below 95% of Canadian towns. 1.1% of residents are immigrants. As a yardstick, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Eel River Crossing sits above 79% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (6.9%)
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. The wider picture: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 97% of Canadian towns: 9.2%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 13% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 50% of residents 15 and over had a job
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.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 50%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 24% of residents are 65 or over.
A younger town than 4 of the 6 around it: Eel River Crossing
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of New Brunswick’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
Questions about Eel River Crossing’s residents
Is Eel River Crossing good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 52% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Eel River Crossing are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Eel River Crossing?
Half of Eel River Crossing’s households had more than $62,400 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Eel River Crossing?
About 1,918, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,844 people in Eel River Crossing, 6% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Eel River Crossing?
The median age is 52. 12% are under 15 and 24% 65 or older.
Is Eel River Crossing bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 72% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 9.1% speak only English and 19% only French; 80% grew up with French.
How diverse is Eel River Crossing?
Immigrants: 1.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 0%. Indigenous identity: 6.9%.
What religion are people in Eel River Crossing?
14% said they have no religion and 85% that they are Christian; 0.5% named another faith.
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).