Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainA median age of 54.8: Shippagan is older than 95% of Canadian towns
Where 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, Shippagan has 11%. The share of residents with no religion stands at 6%. Children under 15 are rarer here than in 94% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 2,250 households in the town; by July 2025 the population was about 4,721.
What stands out about the people of Shippagan
A French-speaking community
French is the mother tongue of 95% of residents, more than in 93% of Canadian towns. 30% can speak English and French, and 96% use French most at home. English & French ↓
Older than most towns
Shippagan’s median age is 54.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Shippagan: 95% of residents have French as their mother tongue, above 93% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. 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
At home: English 3.4%, French 96%. 30% of residents speak English and French, more than in 81% of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns.
Slower than most: ±0% since 2016, behind 80% 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
By July 2025, the estimate was 1% lower. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across New Brunswick’s towns, by more than +3%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 29% in Shippagan, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.3% in Shippagan and 11% across Canada’s towns. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Shippagan, 54.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women.
Shippagan ranks above 90% of Canadian towns on one-parent families: 12%
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.
A household here has 2.1 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. The share of one-parent families across Canada’s towns is 8.2%. 32% of households are one person living alone.
Shippagan ranks above 81% of Canadian towns on common-law partners: 17%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
33% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). The census found that 35% of residents 15 and over are married in Shippagan. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Shippagan ranks above 93% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 92%
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 74% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 18% of homes were built before 1961 and 10% in 2001 or later.
The middle household earns $60,400 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. 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; Shippagan’s, at $60,400, is 30% lower. Household incomes across New Brunswick’s towns have a median of $73,300. In 2020, 30% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Shippagan sits below 99% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (2.7%)
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
0.4% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%). For comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of Indigenous residents than 76% of Canadian towns, at 6.3%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. The share of Indigenous residents across Canada’s towns is 2.8%.
Only 11% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Shippagan
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 35%; 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 46%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
46% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 29% are 65 or more.
Among 41 towns of 4,627 to 4,817 people, the 7th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Pembina Strip is the youngest of them at 31; Electoral Area B, Nanaimo, at 63.2, the oldest. The closest ages to Shippagan’s belong to Dundas (51.6), Central Okanagan (51.6), Marmora (56) and Guysborough (58.4).
Around Shippagan, 3 of 4 towns have a higher median age
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shippagan | 4,721 | — | 54.8 | 29% | 0.4% |
| Lamèque | 1,392 | 2.5 km | 56 | 35% | 0% |
| Shippagan | 3,073 | 9.4 km | 51.2 | 28% | 1.4% |
| Bas-Caraquet | 1,391 | 12.8 km | 58 | 34% | 0.8% |
| Caraquet | 1,263 | 15.4 km | 55.6 | 30% | 0.8% |
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. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
Questions about Shippagan’s residents
What religion are people in Shippagan?
Most often Christian (94%) or no religion (6%); other religions make up 0%.
Is Shippagan good for families?
Children under 15 are 11% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 44% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Shippagan are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Shippagan?
Median total household income in Shippagan was $60,400 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Shippagan?
The latest figure is an estimate: 4,721 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Shippagan counted 4,781, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Shippagan?
Half the residents are older than 54.8 and half younger, older than 95% of Canadian towns; 11% are children under 15 and 29% are 65 or over.
Is Shippagan bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 30% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 1.1% speak only English and 69% only French; 95% grew up with French.
How diverse is Shippagan?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 0.4%. A visible minority makes up 0% and Indigenous residents 6.3%.
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).