Hay RiverNorthwest Territories
3,317 residents make their home in this town in the Northwest Territories. Statistics Canada counts it in the Territories (outside CAs, N.W.T.) / Territoires (à l'extérieur des AR, T.N.-O.) metro area.
Is Hay River a good place to live?
What it saves you on housing, it gives back elsewhere. Households here earn well (A+). Add cost of living to its strengths (A+). Where it falls short is hazard risk (D−). Overall, that makes a B−, good for #1,346 of 2,556 Canadian towns. Set against the rest, it does better than half of Canadian towns. Safety lags (D−).
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the police detachment's figure, shared with the towns and countryside around it. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread. Wildfire lowers this town's Hazard risk Grade: a high share of the land around it has burned in the last 40 years.
How Hay River grades
Each subject compares Hay River with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Hay River stand out
The 3 things Hay River does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hay River.
On hazards, Hay River comes out behind almost every Canadian town
At 2.24% of the land burned each year (77% within 25 km since 1986), Hay River is in the very high wildfire band. About as many homes carry radon around Hay River as elsewhere, 5.4% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. One flood study covers the town, by Government of the Northwest Territories, Department of Environment and Climate Change. Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.005 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical).
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.005 | – | $0.030 |
| Radon tests above the guideline | 5.4% | – | 6.6% |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Trips to work from Hay River are shorter than from Canadian towns: 14 min on average
85% of commuters drove, lower than Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 14 min | – | 26 min |
| Car or van | 85% | – | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
Crime runs heavier where Hay River is policed than in Canadian towns, at an index of 536
Source area for Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000: the Hay River detachment area
The violent index for its police area came to 508, above Canadian towns (86). For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 103.2 violent incidents are reported each year. Thefts, break-ins and damage add up to 239.5 per 1,000 residents a year where it is policed.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index | 536 | – | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 508 | – | 86 |
| Violent crime | 103.2 | – | 12 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 239.5 | – | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Rent takes less of local pay in Hay River than in Canadian towns: 12% of household income
One in ten households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, lower than Canadian towns (18%). Households that own their home make up 71%.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 12% | – | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 10% | – | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 71% | – | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Summers stay cool in Hay River: July afternoons reach 21.7°C, below Canadian towns
January nights in Hay River drop to −25.8°C on average. Rain and melted snow add up to 320 mm a year, below Canadian towns (883 mm). Gardeners get 103 frost-free days, from 4 June to 16 September. November is the snowiest month, with 34 cm on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −25.8°C | – | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 21.7°C | – | 25.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 320 mm | – | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 221 | – | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Hay River)
Life expectancy around Hay River is 76.4 years, 5.1 less than for the typical Canadian town
Area-wide: health survey and life expectancy, counted over the Northwest Territories health region
The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 43%; the Northwest Territories as a whole is at 43%. Smoking takes in 25% of adults, age-standardised, above Canadian towns (12%). Closer to home, a hospital is just 2.4 km from the average resident of Hay River, nearer than the usual 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 25% | – | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 76.4 | – | 81.5 |
| Very good or excellent health | 43% | – | 52% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 17% | – | 17% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
More of Hay River’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Canadian towns: 44%
Children are 18% of the town. People 65 and over make up 15% of the town, below Canadian towns (19%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
49.4% of Hay River’s residents are women
1,600 men and 1,565 women lived here in 2021, against a share of women of 50.9% for Canada.
| Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | – | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 67% | – | 64% |
| 65+ | 15% | – | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 23% | – | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 53% | – | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Northwest Territories and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
What November brings in Hay River: −14°C at night, −7°C by day
Precipitation in November averages 24 mm. December follows at −14°C by day and −23°C by night. At the extremes, July afternoons reach 22°C and January nights −26°C. ECCC’s forecast for Hay River is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −15°C | −24°C | 47 mm |
| Spring | 2°C | −9°C | 47 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 10°C | 127 mm |
| Autumn | 4°C | −4°C | 99 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Hay River); the forecast is on the Weather page
Northwest Territories, which takes in Hay River, is held by Rebecca Alty (Liberal Party of Canada)
1 of the 1 MPs from the Northwest Territories belong to the Liberal Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library is mapped in or near Hay River
Without open library statistics in the Northwest Territories, the page names Hay River’s libraries but shows no visits or loans.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Hay River is 24 km from Wood Buffalo National Park
OpenStreetMap shows 15 unnamed beaches within 5 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0% | – | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | – | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
One of the 3 schools around Hay River teaches in French
The 3 km around Hay River counts 2 elementary schools and 1 school for every grade.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Camsell SchoolIn Hay RiverElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| École Borale FrenchIn Hay RiverAll grades | All grades | – | French public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Hay River | Northwest Territories | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 2 | – | 3 |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · In the Northwest Territories, no schools grade. The province publishes no results school by school.
Everything we know about Hay River
Famous people from Hay River
8 notable people were born in Hay River.
Photo credits
Brendan Green: Wikijunkie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Denise Ramsden: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Geoff Sanderson: Horge, Public domain · Jelena Mrdjenovich: Bucajeca, CC BY-SA 4.0
About Hay River
Town in Northwest Territories
Hay River is a municipality in the Northwest Territories, read by TownRatings as Statistics Canada draws it: one census subdivision, so its figures cover the whole municipality.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 3,317 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Northwest Territories
- Census division
- Region 5
- Metro area
- Territories (outside CAs, N.W.T.) / Territoires (à l'extérieur des AR, T.N.-O.)
- Census subdivision
- 6105016
Questions about Hay River
Is Hay River growing?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 3,528 to 3,169 residents (10.2% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 3,317.
Who are the people of Hay River?
9% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 44% have an Indigenous identity and 8% are immigrants.
What kind of homes are in Hay River?
84% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2.5 people; 29% are one person living alone.
Is Hay River a young town or an old one?
At 40.4, its median age compares with 45.2 across Canadian towns.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).