Photo: Torbenbrinker|Torbenbrinker · CC BY-SA 3.0Indigenous residents: 14%, a higher share than 93% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families; in Deer Lake, 11%. The 2021 Census found 2,140 households in the town; by July 2025 the population was about 5,319. Here, 13% of residents are under 15. Fewer immigrants than in 97% of Canadian towns: 1.2%.
What stands out about the people of Deer Lake
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 14% of residents, more than in 93% of Canadian towns, and 7.1% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Deer Lake went from 5,249 people in 2016 to 4,864 in 2021, −7%: slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Deer Lake’s residents are under 51.6 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 28% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower growth than 99% of Canadian towns: Deer Lake changed by −7% since 2016
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 July 2025 estimate adds another 9%. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, −2%.
Older than 89% of Canadian towns: half of Deer Lake is over 51.6
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Here, 28% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Deer Lake, 51.6. 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.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 74% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-person households account for 28%.
Above 68% of Canadian towns: 52% of residents 15 and over are married
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The figure for common-law partners is 8.8% in Deer Lake and 11% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
In Deer Lake, 77% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 68% 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
31% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 19% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. The usual figure: 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. In Deer Lake, 27% of households rent their home, beside 25% across Canada’s towns.
Median gross household income: $62,400 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
Deer Lake’s median household took in $62,400 before tax, 27% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $63,600 is the median household income across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 27% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Only 7.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Deer Lake
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
36% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, residents without Canadian citizenship are scarce here: 0.7%, fewer than in 94% of Canadian towns. Against that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
In Deer Lake, 16% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 93% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 1.5%, below 90% of Canadian towns. Residents with no religion make up 35% across Canada’s towns.
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
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 1.3% of residents speak English and French here. What’s more, 0.2% of residents have French as their mother tongue, fewer than in 99% of Canadian towns.
In Deer Lake, 12% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 90% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 11% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 40%
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. 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 40%; 28% of residents are 65 or over.
7th highest median age among 41 towns of 5,220 to 5,415
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages climb from 26.6 (Chisasibi) to 60 (Electoral Area L, Cariboo) across the group. Nearest to Deer Lake in age: Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay (47.2), The Ravines of Rainbow Creek (48.5), Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay (52) and Central Frontenac (55.6).
Every nearby town is younger than Deer Lake
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. The nearest places to Deer Lake with figures are 22–46 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Lake | 5,319 | — | 51.6 | 28% | 1.2% |
| Pasadena | 3,930 | 21.9 km | 49.2 | 26% | 1.4% |
| Irishtown-Summerside | 1,296 | 42.8 km | 51.6 | 28% | 0.9% |
| Massey Drive | 1,760 | 43.3 km | 39.2 | 11% | 2.2% |
| Corner Brook | 20,549 | 46.0 km | 49.6 | 27% | 2.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- 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.
Questions about Deer Lake’s residents
Is Deer Lake 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 0.2%.
How diverse is Deer Lake?
Immigrants make up 1.2% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 1.5% are members of a visible minority, and 14% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Deer Lake?
Christian: 84%. No religion: 16%. Another religion: 0.6%.
Is Deer Lake good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 55% of households are couple families and 11% one-parent families. Schools near Deer Lake are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Deer Lake?
$62,400 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Deer Lake (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Deer Lake?
Statistics Canada estimates 5,319 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 4,864 in Deer Lake, 7% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Deer Lake?
51.6 is the median age, older than 89% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 28%.
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).