Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Above 81% of Canadian towns: 7.5% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Recent arrivals are nearly two thirds of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. 37% of households rent their home, more than in 70% of Canadian towns. With about 12,707 residents in July 2025, Gander counted 5,065 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 2.5% of residents are immigrants.
Gander changed by +2% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 67% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. 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 −2% across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 7% higher again.
Older than 69% of Canadian towns: half of Gander is over 45.2
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
50–54 is the most common age band: 7.8% of residents. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 64% of Canadian towns. By contrast, in Gander, 15% of residents are under 15, beside 16% across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Gander, 45.2. 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 64% of Canadian towns: 2.3 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.
The share of one-parent families is 9.2%, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns. For Gander, the census puts one-person households at 27%.
Married residents 15 and over make up 50% in Gander, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
23% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Across the comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: just over a tenth of the total.
66% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 53% of Canadian towns
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 29% date from 2001 or later, 18% from before 1961. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 0.3%.
Half above, half below $80,000 a year in household income
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Gander had $80,000 before tax, 7% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, the median household income is $63,600. Pandemic benefits reached 25% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
2.5% of residents are immigrants
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
Here 2.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 5.8%. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% of the total.
Residents with no religion make up 22% in Gander, less than in 83% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 2.7% in Gander. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 35% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 97%, and 7.4% speak French as well
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
1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns, against 0.5% in Gander. At home: English 98%, French 0.2%.
In Gander, 20% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 66% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 8.8%, beside a typical 9.5%. Set beside that, 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
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 52%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 21% of residents are 65 or over.
41 towns of 12,424 to 13,004 people: this is the 13th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
North Saanich is the oldest at 56.8, Thompson the youngest at 31. The towns whose median age is nearest to Gander’s: Winchester (44.8), View Royal (44.8), Lakeview (45.4) and Rothesay (45.6).
Every neighbour of Gander has an older population
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. The nearest places to Gander with figures are 36–46 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gander | 12,707 | — | 45.2 | 21% | 2.5% |
| Gambo | 1,859 | 35.8 km | 52.4 | 29% | 1.4% |
| Lewisporte | 3,405 | 44.7 km | 55.6 | 37% | 0.5% |
| Division No. 8, Subdivision L | 2,724 | 45.6 km | 53.6 | 29% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Newfoundland and Labrador’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. 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.
Questions about Gander’s residents
What is the median income in Gander?
Median total household income in Gander was $80,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Gander?
The latest figure is an estimate: 12,707 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Gander counted 11,880, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Gander?
Half the residents are older than 45.2 and half younger, older than 69% of Canadian towns; 15% are children under 15 and 21% are 65 or over.
Is Gander bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 7.4% are. Another 0% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 0.5%.
How diverse is Gander?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 2.5%. A visible minority makes up 2.7% and Indigenous residents 7.5%.
What religion are people in Gander?
Most often Christian (77%) or no religion (22%); other religions make up 1.6%.
Is Gander good for families?
Children under 15 are 15% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 57% of households and one-parent families 9.2%. Schools near Gander 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).