Photo: Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 4.0Indigenous residents make up 44% in Hay River, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Where 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns, Hay River has 84%. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 15%. On immigrants, Hay River sits lower than 71% of Canadian towns: 7.7%. This Northwest Territories town is home to some 3,317 people (July 2025 estimate), in 1,275 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Hay River
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
44% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 22% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Hay River went from 3,528 people in 2016 to 3,169 in 2021, −10%: slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−10% since 2016, a pace below 99% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 5%. For comparison, Canada’s towns changed by a median +4%.
Hay River is younger than 61% of Canadian towns: a median age of 40.4
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 11%. The largest age band is 55–59: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Hay River, 40.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
A higher share of one-parent families than 78% of Canadian towns, at 10%
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households in Hay River hold 2.5 people on average (Canada’s towns: 2.4). As a reference point, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns. In Hay River, 29% of households are one person living alone.
Common-law partners: 18%, a higher share than 83% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 31% of adults (typical: 27%). Against that, just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
More renter households than 59% of Canadian towns: 30%
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
18% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
$129,000 a year: where the middle household sits
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $129,000, the middle household in Hay River out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 50%. Pandemic benefits reached 24% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Hay River: 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 55% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (59%), then in Europe (18%). Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across Canada’s towns. Hay River has fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than 68% of Canadian towns, at 2.7%. 38% of immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 1% of residents.
Hay River: 44% of residents said they have no religion, above 76% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
In Hay River, nearly one in ten residents belong to a visible minority, beside 15% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of bilingual residents than 62% of Canadian towns: 10%
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
3% of residents have French as their mother tongue; across Canada’s towns the figure is 1.5%. For comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. At home: English 94%, French 1.6%.
20% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, below 68% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 17% (typical 9.5%). Against that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 65% of residents aged 15 and over
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
65% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
The 12th youngest of 41 towns of 3,262 to 3,361 people
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
They run from Arviat, at 21.8, to North Kawartha, at 59.2. Miller (39.6), Hill Park (39.6), Greeningdon (40.6) and Holyrood (40.8): the towns nearest Hay River in median age.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against Canada’s towns. Northwest Territories has too few towns of 2,500 or more for a median of its own, so each figure is set beside the median of all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out).
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Hay River’s residents
What religion are people in Hay River?
44% said they have no religion and 53% that they are Christian; 3.4% named another faith.
Is Hay River good for families?
18% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 51% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Hay River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Hay River?
Half of Hay River’s households had more than $129,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Hay River?
About 3,317, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 3,169 people in Hay River, 10% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Hay River?
The median age is 40.4, younger than 61% of Canadian towns. 18% are under 15 and 15% 65 or older.
Is Hay River bilingual?
English and French: 10% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 89%. French only: 0.2%. French mother tongue: 3%.
How diverse is Hay River?
Immigrants: 7.7% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 9.1%. Indigenous identity: 44%.
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).