Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0A lower share of renter households than 99% of Canadian towns, at 3.3%
Set against 35% across Canada’s towns, 6.3% of residents said they have no religion in Witless Bay. The 2021 Census found 615 households locally; by July 2025 the population was about 1,833. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 3.8% in the town. 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 91% of Canadian towns.
+1% since 2016: slower than 69% 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
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 12% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, by more than −2%.
20% of residents are under 15, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The median age in Witless Bay is 41.6, lower than in 53% of Canadian towns. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 18% locally. Set beside that, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. No age band is larger than 30–34: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
18% of households are one person living alone, below 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.
In Witless Bay the average household is 2.6 people, beside 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Lower than in 64% of Canadian towns: 7.4% of households are one-parent families. One-person households: 27% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
In Witless Bay, 55% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 79% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 21% of adults (typical: 27%). For comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners account for 12%.
Witless Bay: 98% of households live in a single-detached house, above 99% 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Across the comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 51% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 12% built before 1961.
Household income, middle of the range: $103,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Witless Bay had $103,000 before tax, 20% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns have a median of $63,600. In 2020, 26% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
1.3% 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
17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, against 1.3% in Witless Bay. Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns.
3.5% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 58% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. Indigenous residents make up 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 99%, and 2.4% 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
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 2.4% of residents speak English and French here.
Witless Bay ranks below 69% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 19%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 7.7%, against 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
57% of adults were employed in May 2021
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.
Employment here, 57%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
Witless Bay is younger than 1 of its 2 nearest neighbours
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witless Bay | 1,833 | — | 41.6 | 18% | 1.3% |
| Bay Bulls | 1,699 | 5.1 km | 41.2 | 18% | 1% |
| Division No. 1, Subdivision U | 1,522 | 9.8 km | 54 | 25% | 1.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Witless Bay’s residents
What is the population of Witless Bay?
Statistics Canada estimates 1,833 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 1,640 in Witless Bay, 1% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Witless Bay?
41.6 is the median age. Under 15: 20%. 65 and over: 18%.
Is Witless Bay bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 2.4% are. Another 0% speak only French and 98% only English, and French is the first language of 0%.
How diverse is Witless Bay?
Immigrants make up 1.3% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 0% are members of a visible minority, and 3.5% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Witless Bay?
Christian: 93%. No religion: 6.3%. Another religion: 0.3%.
Is Witless Bay good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 20%. 68% of households are couple families and 7.4% one-parent families. Schools near Witless Bay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Witless Bay?
$103,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Witless Bay (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
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).