Photo: United Kingdom Hydrographic Office · Public domainHalf of Harbour Grace is over 54, older than 93% of Canadian towns
11% of residents are under 15, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Harbour Grace is home to some 2,872 people (July 2025 estimate), in 1,310 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 3.2% locally. Higher than in 90% of Canadian towns: 91% of households live in a single-detached house.
What stands out about the people of Harbour Grace
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Harbour Grace went from 2,995 to 2,796 residents (−7%), slower growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Harbour Grace’s median age is 54; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 30% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A change of −7% since 2016 leaves Harbour Grace behind 98% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. 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 had risen a further 3%. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; −2% across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 92% of Canadian towns: 30%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Where 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, Harbour Grace has 9.8%. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Harbour Grace, 54. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
Harbour Grace households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families tops just over four fifths of Canadian towns: 11%. In Harbour Grace, 30% of households are one person living alone.
Fewer common-law partners than 81% of Canadian towns: 6.8%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
In Harbour Grace, 51% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 46% across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Fewer renter households than 71% of Canadian towns: 17%
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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. Across the comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 26% predate 1961, 16% date from 2001 or later.
The middle household earns $57,600 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Harbour Grace’s, at $57,600, is 33% lower. The median across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns is $63,600. Pandemic benefits reached 26% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
0.7% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Against a figure of 17% across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants in Harbour Grace comes in at 0.7%. The census found that 0.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens here.
Harbour Grace sits below 99% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (8.2%)
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
1.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity; across Canada’s towns the figure is 2.8%. Across Harbour Grace, 0.4% of residents belong to a visible minority. The usual figure: just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 100%, and 2.3% speak French as well
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 2.3% of residents speak English and French here. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.2% of the total.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 93% of Canadian towns, at 11%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 13% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. For comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
39% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 39%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 30% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (2,835 to 2,909 people), the 7th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Between McKernan (30) and Parry Sound, Unorganized, Centre Part (61.2) lies the rest of the group. Nearest to Harbour Grace in age: Springdale (53.6), Forestville (54), Saint-Anicet (55.2) and Botwood (56.4).
Every nearby town is younger than Harbour Grace
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbour Grace | 2,872 | — | 54 | 30% | 0.7% |
| Upper Island Cove | 1,553 | 4.1 km | 53.2 | 29% | 1.1% |
| Carbonear | 5,041 | 5.6 km | 51.6 | 29% | 2.6% |
| Spaniard's Bay | 2,664 | 8.5 km | 48 | 23% | 1.1% |
| Victoria | 1,837 | 9.1 km | 51.2 | 25% | 0.9% |
| Bay Roberts | 6,407 | 11.3 km | 47.2 | 23% | 0.3% |
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 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. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
Questions about Harbour Grace’s residents
Is Harbour Grace good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 11%. 51% of households are couple families and 11% one-parent families. Schools near Harbour Grace are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Harbour Grace?
$57,600 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Harbour Grace (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Harbour Grace?
Statistics Canada estimates 2,872 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 2,796 in Harbour Grace, 7% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Harbour Grace?
54 is the median age, older than 93% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 11%. 65 and over: 30%.
Is Harbour Grace bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 2.3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 98% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Harbour Grace?
Immigrants make up 0.7% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 0.4% are members of a visible minority, and 1.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Harbour Grace?
Christian: 92%. No religion: 8.2%. Another religion: 0%.
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).