Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Fewer children under 15 than 79% of Canadian towns: 13%
54% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 34% of households are one person living alone. St. John's has more renter households than nearly three quarters of Canadian towns, at 39%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 128,693 residents; the 2021 Census found 49,295 households.
St. John's changed by +2% from 2016 to 2021, behind 68% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 16%. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, −2%.
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 74% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The largest age band is 20–24: 7.6% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. Among Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, Lewisporte has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 37%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ St. John's, 42. 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 74% of Canadian towns: 2.2 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.
Shared houses stand out: 7.2% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 88% of Canadian towns. In St. John's, one in ten households are one-parent families.
Below 69% of Canadian towns: 40% of residents 15 and over are married
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: just over a third of adults (typical: 27%). Measured more widely, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% of the total.
42% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 76% 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
By its share of households in buildings of five or more storeys (1.1%), St. John's is above 61% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%. A quarter of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 22% built before 1961.
The midpoint household income is $75,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. 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; St. John's’s, at $75,000, is 13% lower. Among Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, the typical figure is $63,600. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 29% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
St. John's sits above 71% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (14%)
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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (44%) and in Europe (24%). Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, immigrants are scarce here: 7%, fewer than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Below 78% of Canadian towns: 24% of residents said they have no religion
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 15% across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents in St. John's comes in at 10%. To put it in context, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Other faiths: Muslim (3%).
Above 59% of Canadian towns: 9.2% of residents speak English and French
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 95%, French 0.3%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%. St. John's has fewer residents whose mother tongue is French than 89% of Canadian towns, at 0.6%.
St. John's ranks above 69% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 38%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 7.3%, against 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 55% of adults
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.
At 55%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 20% are 65 or over.
41 towns of 95,763 to 175,358 people: this is the 19th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
They run from Waterloo, at 36, to Cape Breton, at 50.4. Closest in median age to St. John's are Newmarket (41.6), Coquitlam (41.6), Strathcona County (42.4) and Kelowna (42.4).
Of the 6 towns nearest St. John's, 5 are older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 128,693 | — | 42 | 20% | 7% |
| Mount Pearl | 24,266 | 6.6 km | 46 | 22% | 2.3% |
| Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove | 1,005 | 9.4 km | 47.2 | 19% | 0% |
| Portugal Cove-St. Philip's | 9,167 | 9.7 km | 43.2 | 15% | 3.8% |
| Paradise | 26,155 | 9.8 km | 38 | 11% | 1.5% |
| Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove | 2,601 | 10.0 km | 46.8 | 19% | 4.4% |
| Torbay | 8,297 | 11.4 km | 42.8 | 14% | 2.6% |
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. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
Questions about St. John's’s residents
How diverse is St. John's?
7% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 10% belong to a visible minority and 3.3% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in St. John's?
71% are Christian and 24% have no religion; 5.1% follow another religion.
Is St. John's good for families?
Under 15: 13% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 45% of households. One-parent families: 10%. Schools near St. John's are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in St. John's?
The median household in St. John's took in $75,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of St. John's?
St. John's had about 128,693 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 110,525, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in St. John's?
A median age of 42, younger than 51% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 13%, and people 65 and over 20%.
Is St. John's bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 9.2% are. Another 0% speak only French and 90% only English, and French is the first language of 0.6%.
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).