Photo: Yergoneby · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 95% of Canadian towns: half of Bonavista is over 54.8
Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Bonavista, 6.9%. Here, nearly one in ten residents said they have no religion. The town has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 92% of Canadian towns, at 7.8%. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 3,293 for July 2025.
What stands out about the people of Bonavista
Fewer people than before
Bonavista went from 3,448 people in 2016 to 3,190 in 2021, −8%: slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Line Bonavista’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 54.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 31% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−8% since 2016, a pace below 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
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns −2%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 3% higher again.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 31% in Bonavista, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The figure for children under 15 is 11% in Bonavista and 16% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Bonavista, 54.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more 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 Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families: 11%, above 84% of Canadian towns. 31% of households are one person living alone, more than in 65% of Canadian towns.
9% of residents 15 and over live common-law, below 65% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Against a figure of 46% across Canada’s towns, the share of married residents 15 and over in Bonavista comes in at 50%. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
Bonavista: 90% of households live in a single-detached house, above 88% of Canadian towns
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
38% of homes were built before 1961 and 14% in 2001 or later. Set beside that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Fewer renter households than in 61% of Canadian towns: 20%.
Household income, middle of the range: $54,800 a year
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
Bonavista’s median household took in $54,800 before tax, 36% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns have a median of $63,600. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 27% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
1.6% 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
Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. Against a figure of 17% across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants in Bonavista comes in at 1.6%.
91% said they are Christian and 8.5% that they have no religion
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here 0.3% of residents belong to a visible minority, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 15%. Across Bonavista, 2.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
English is the mother tongue of 99%, and 1.3% speak French as well
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
Across Canada’s towns, 7.5% of residents speak English and French; in Bonavista, 1.3%.
In Bonavista, 9.1% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 97% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 28% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 42% of residents aged 15 and over
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
42% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 31% are 65 or more.
In its size band (3,244 to 3,337), the 5th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest is Arviat (21.8) and the oldest Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast (61.2). Closest in median age to Bonavista are Central Okanagan West (54.8), Inverness County, Subdivision C (54.8), Grande-Rivière (55.6) and Sheet Harbour (57.3).
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than Bonavista
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. The nearest places to Bonavista with figures are 15–70 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonavista | 3,293 | — | 54.8 | 31% | 1.6% |
| Trinity Bay North | 1,692 | 14.9 km | 56.8 | 31% | 1.8% |
| Division No. 7, Subdivision E | 2,632 | 63.6 km | 55.2 | 29% | 0.8% |
| New-Wes-Valley | 2,011 | 65.0 km | 56.8 | 34% | 0.8% |
| Centreville-Wareham-Trinity | 1,100 | 69.4 km | 59.6 | 39% | 1.4% |
| Glovertown | 2,014 | 70.4 km | 54.8 | 31% | 1.1% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Newfoundland and Labrador’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.
- 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.
Questions about Bonavista’s residents
What is the median income in Bonavista?
The median household in Bonavista took in $54,800 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Bonavista?
Bonavista had about 3,293 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,190, 8% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Bonavista?
A median age of 54.8, older than 95% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 11%, and people 65 and over 31%.
Is Bonavista bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 1.3% are. Another 0% speak only French and 99% only English, and French is the first language of 0%.
How diverse is Bonavista?
1.6% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 0.3% belong to a visible minority and 2.1% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Bonavista?
91% are Christian and 8.5% have no religion; 0.2% follow another religion.
Is Bonavista good for families?
Under 15: 11% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 52% of households. One-parent families: 11%. Schools near Bonavista 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).