Below 97% of Canadian towns: 6.4% of households rent their home
With a median age of 49.6, Saint Stephen is older than 84% of Canadian towns. About 1,772 people lived locally in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Here, 6.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Set against 11% across Canada’s towns, 7.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24 locally.
What stands out about the people of Saint Stephen
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Saint Stephen went from 1,839 to 1,671 residents (−9%), slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower growth than 99% of Canadian towns: Saint Stephen changed by −9% since 2016
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across New Brunswick’s towns +3%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 6% higher again.
More residents aged 65 and over than 69% of Canadian towns: 22%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 60–64: just over one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across Canada’s towns. The share of children under 15 stands at 16%. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
Saint Stephen households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 64% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Saint Stephen has fewer one-parent families than just over two thirds of Canadian towns, at 7.1%. The census found that just over a quarter of households are one person living alone locally.
Saint Stephen sits above 74% of Canadian towns for married residents 15 and over (54%)
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Saint Stephen, the census puts common-law partners at 10%.
83% of households live in a single-detached house, a share 77% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
12% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. 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: 17% predate 1961, 16% date from 2001 or later.
$66,000 a year: where the middle household sits
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Saint Stephen’s median household took in $66,000 before tax, 23% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For New Brunswick’s towns, the median household income is $73,300. COVID-19 benefits went to 21% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
4.6% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Compared with 17% across Canada’s towns, 4.6% of residents are immigrants here. Saint Stephen has fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than 71% of Canadian towns, at 2.4%.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 81% of Canadian towns, at 47%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Compared with 15% across Canada’s towns, 1.2% of residents belong to a visible minority here. On average, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. For Saint Stephen, the census puts Indigenous residents at 2.4%.
97% have English as their mother tongue; 7.2% also speak French
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Census figures put residents whose mother tongue is French at 1.5% in Saint Stephen.
Below 97% of Canadian towns: 9.2% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 8.6% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
52% of residents 15 and over were in work
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 52%; 22% of residents are 65 or over.
A younger town than 2 of the 3 around it: Saint Stephen
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Stephen | 1,772 | — | 49.6 | 22% | 4.6% |
| St. Stephen | 4,876 | 4.8 km | 48 | 26% | 8.2% |
| Saint David | 1,559 | 5.0 km | 51.6 | 26% | 7.2% |
| Saint James | 1,085 | 9.9 km | 52 | 26% | 6.3% |
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. 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.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Saint Stephen’s residents
What religion are people in Saint Stephen?
Most often Christian (53%) or no religion (47%); other religions make up 0.3%.
Is Saint Stephen good for families?
Children under 15 are 16% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 59% of households and one-parent families 7.1%. Schools near Saint Stephen are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Saint Stephen?
Median total household income in Saint Stephen was $66,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Saint Stephen?
The latest figure is an estimate: 1,772 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Saint Stephen counted 1,671, 9% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Saint Stephen?
Half the residents are older than 49.6 and half younger; 16% are children under 15 and 22% are 65 or over.
Is Saint Stephen bilingual?
7.2% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 93% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.5%.
How diverse is Saint Stephen?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 4.6%. A visible minority makes up 1.2% and Indigenous residents 2.4%.
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).