Photo: Not specified · Public domainIn Saint James, 6.7% of households rent their home, fewer than in 97% of Canadian towns
2.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across Canada’s towns. With about 1,085 residents in July 2025, Saint James counted 450 households at the 2021 Census. Across Saint James, 7.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity. Children under 15 are rarer here than in 91% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Saint James
Fewer people than before
Saint James went from 1,186 people in 2016 to 1,024 in 2021, −14%: slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Saint James’s residents are under 52 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 26% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Saint James has changed by −14%, slower than 99% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across New Brunswick’s towns, by more than +3%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 6%.
Half of Saint James is over 52, older than 90% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24; in Saint James, 9.8%. Locally, 26% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women.
Smaller households than 64% of Canadian towns: 2.3 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
6.7% of households are one-parent families, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns. One-person households account for 28%.
More married residents 15 and over than 67% of Canadian towns: 52%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
22% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Saint James has more common-law partners than 66% of Canadian towns, at 13%. As a yardstick, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
In Saint James, 94% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 95% 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Nearly a third of homes were built before 1961 and 16% in 2001 or later. Set beside that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
$60,400 a year: where the middle household sits
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Saint James’s median household took in $60,400 before tax, 30% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across New Brunswick’s towns have a median of $73,300. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 25% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
6.3% of residents are immigrants
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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The largest groups of immigrants were born in the Americas (69%) and in Europe (23%). On residents without Canadian citizenship, Saint James sits lower than 82% of Canadian towns: 1.5%. Set against 17% across Canada’s towns, 6.3% of residents are immigrants here.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 58% of Canadian towns: 38%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (1%), Saint James is below 95% of Canadian towns. For comparison, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 98%, and 5.4% speak French as well
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
Set against 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 5.4% of residents speak English and French in Saint James. Few places have as many residents whose mother tongue is French: 2% here, more than in 61% of Canadian towns.
Saint James ranks below 99% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 4.2%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 12%, against 9.5%. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 53% of adults
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
53% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 26% are 65 or more.
The towns around Saint James are all younger
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint James | 1,085 | — | 52 | 26% | 6.3% |
| Saint David | 1,559 | 9.9 km | 51.6 | 26% | 7.2% |
| Saint Stephen | 1,772 | 9.9 km | 49.6 | 22% | 4.6% |
| St. Stephen | 4,876 | 14.7 km | 48 | 26% | 8.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. “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.
- 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.
Questions about Saint James’s residents
What is the median income in Saint James?
Half of Saint James’s households had more than $60,400 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Saint James?
About 1,085, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,024 people in Saint James, 14% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Saint James?
The median age is 52. 11% are under 15 and 26% 65 or older.
Is Saint James bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5.4% are. Another 0% speak only French and 95% only English, and French is the first language of 2%.
How diverse is Saint James?
Immigrants: 6.3% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 1%. Indigenous identity: 7.8%.
What religion are people in Saint James?
38% said they have no religion and 62% that they are Christian; 0.4% named another faith.
Is Saint James good for families?
11% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 58% of households and one-parent families 6.7%. Schools near Saint James 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).