Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.065% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 99% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Recent arrivals are two in five immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. At 17%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is higher than in 86% of Canadian towns. With about 3,337 residents in July 2025, Inuvik counted 1,220 households at the 2021 Census. In Inuvik, 12% of households are one-parent families.
What stands out about the people of Inuvik
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
65% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 18% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Inuvik’s median age is 34.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 23% are under 15 and 9.6% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town of renters
Renters are 66% of households, more than in 94% of Canadian towns, and 29% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Fewer people than before
Inuvik went from 3,243 people in 2016 to 3,137 in 2021, −3%: slower growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower than most: −3% since 2016, behind 93% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 6%. For comparison, Canada’s towns changed by a median +4%.
Half of Inuvik is under 34.8, younger than 91% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Set against 19% across Canada’s towns, one in ten residents are 65 or over in Inuvik. In Inuvik, nearly a quarter of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Inuvik, 34.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women.
33% of households are one person living alone, a share 73% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Private households by type and size.
Against Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
At 2.5 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Measured more widely, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
More common-law partners than 86% of Canadian towns: 22%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Where 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns, Inuvik has 30%. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Inuvik sits above 94% of Canadian towns for renter households (66%)
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
Set against 64% across Canada’s towns, just over two in five households live in a single-detached house in Inuvik. Newer homes outnumber old: 21% date from 2001 or later, 9% from before 1961. 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.
The middle household earns $119,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. 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; Inuvik’s, at $119,000, is 38% higher. Pandemic benefits reached 25% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
8.5% 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
Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (45%), then in Africa (25%). Fewer immigrants than in 68% of Canadian towns: 8.5%. Where 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns, Inuvik has 4.1%.
Inuvik sits above 71% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (42%)
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (2.1%). Across Canada’s towns, just over a third of residents said they have no religion. 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 9.8% in Inuvik.
87% have English as their mother tongue; 6.2% also speak French
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
An Indigenous language is the mother tongue of 3.9%. Inuvik has fewer bilingual residents than 61% of Canadian towns, at 6.2%. On residents whose mother tongue is French, 1% here is much the same as across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 25%, a lower share than 54% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 19% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 67% of residents aged 15 and over
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
67% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
Youngest by rank: 3rd of 41 towns of 3,290 to 3,392 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The span goes from 21.8 (Arviat) up to 59.2 (North Kawartha). The closest ages to Inuvik’s belong to Arviat (21.8), Rankin Inlet (26.8), Royal Gardens (35.2) and Wellington (36.5).
The places around Inuvik
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. No closer place has figures: this one lies 124 km from Inuvik.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inuvik | 3,337 | — | 34.8 | 9.6% | 8.5% |
| Tuktoyaktuk | 1,026 | 123.7 km | 30.8 | 9% | 1.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Inuvik’s residents
Is Inuvik good for families?
Children under 15 are 23% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 43% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Inuvik are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Inuvik?
Median total household income in Inuvik was $119,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Inuvik?
The latest figure is an estimate: 3,337 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Inuvik counted 3,137, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Inuvik?
Half the residents are older than 34.8 and half younger, younger than 91% of Canadian towns; 23% are children under 15 and 9.6% are 65 or over.
Is Inuvik bilingual?
6.2% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 94% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1%.
How diverse is Inuvik?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 8.5%. A visible minority makes up 9.8% and Indigenous residents 65%.
What religion are people in Inuvik?
Most often Christian (53%) or no religion (42%); other religions make up 5.3%.
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).