Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0A higher share of renter households than 82% of Canadian towns, at 46%
27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns, against 36% in Saint John. Higher than in 80% of Canadian towns: 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. The 2021 Census found 31,825 households here; by July 2025 the population was about 79,371. Here, nearly one in ten residents are immigrants.
Saint John changed by +3% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 54% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +3% across New Brunswick’s towns. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 14%.
Saint John is older than 62% of Canadian towns: a median age of 44
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Children under 15: 15%, below 66% of Canadian towns. At the same time, among New Brunswick’s towns, Dalhousie has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 37%. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Saint John, 44. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women.
Smaller households than 83% of Canadian towns: 2.1 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.
Compared with 8.2% across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten households are one-parent families here.
Below 72% of Canadian towns: 38% of residents 15 and over are married
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 32% of adults (typical: 27%). On the census count, 12% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
Above 76% of Canadian towns: 6.8% of households live in a building of five or more storeys
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
36% of homes were built before 1961 and 14% in 2001 or later. Households in single-detached houses are rarer here than in 78% of Canadian towns.
Median household income: $62,800 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $62,800, the middle household in Saint John earned 27% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across New Brunswick’s towns the median is $73,300. In 2020, 27% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
7.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens, more than in 57% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Recent arrivals are 59% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Asia (54%) or in Europe (21%). For comparison, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns.
In Saint John, 36% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 53% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (3.1%). Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 35%. Compared with 15% across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents belong to a visible minority here.
In Saint John, 14% of residents speak English and French, more than in 68% of Canadian towns
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 3.7% here and 1.5% across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Saint John ranks below 57% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 24%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 9.6%, against 9.5%. The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
54% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 54%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 21% of residents are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 14th of 41 towns of 59,444 to 105,925 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
At one end is Grande Prairie (34), at the other Lindsay (51.6). Next to Saint John on this scale come Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (43.6), North Bay (44), Repentigny (44.4) and North Vancouver (44.4).
Around Saint John, 4 of 5 towns have a higher median age
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint John | 79,371 | — | 44 | 21% | 8.1% |
| Grand Bay-Westfield | 5,202 | 12.2 km | 45.2 | 20% | 2.8% |
| Rothesay | 12,626 | 13.1 km | 45.6 | 21% | 7.4% |
| Westfield | 2,245 | 15.1 km | 48 | 21% | 1.7% |
| Quispamsis | 20,240 | 17.3 km | 43.2 | 18% | 6.9% |
| Simonds | 4,263 | 18.2 km | 44.4 | 17% | 0.9% |
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. 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. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Saint John’s residents
What is the average age in Saint John?
The median age is 44, older than 62% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 21% 65 or older.
Is Saint John bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 14% are. Another 0.2% speak only French and 86% only English, and French is the first language of 3.7%.
How diverse is Saint John?
Immigrants: 8.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 11%. Indigenous identity: 2.8%.
What religion are people in Saint John?
36% said they have no religion and 59% that they are Christian; 5.5% named another faith.
Is Saint John good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 42% of households and one-parent families 11%. Schools near Saint John are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Saint John?
Half of Saint John’s households had more than $62,800 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Saint John?
About 79,371, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 69,895 people in Saint John, 3% more than 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).