Photo: Ansgar Walk · CC BY-SA 2.5A median age of 21.8: Arviat is younger than 99% of Canadian towns
The typical household size is 4.5 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 3,330 residents; the 2021 Census found 635 households. In Arviat, 18% of residents are aged 15 to 24. 14% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 94% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Arviat
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 96% of residents, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. 0% are Registered or Treaty Indians and 86% grew up speaking an Indigenous language. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Line Arviat’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 21.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 37% are under 15 and 4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town of renters
80% of households rent their home, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 9.5% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Arviat has grown +8%, faster than 72% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 16%. For comparison, Canada’s towns changed by a median +4%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 4% in Arviat, less than in 99% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
With children under 15 at 37%, Arviat is ahead of 99% of Canadian towns on that count. No age band is larger than 0–4: 14% of residents, 3 times the share across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Arviat, 21.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
More one-parent families than 99% of Canadian towns: 17%
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
14% of households are one person living alone (Canada’s towns: 27%). The share of one-parent families across Canada’s towns is 8.2%.
More common-law partners than 80% of Canadian towns: 17%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
48% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Married residents 15 and over: 31% of the total. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
Arviat sits above 99% of Canadian towns for renter households (80%)
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 33% date from 2001 or later, 1.6% from before 1961. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%. Compared with other places, households in single-detached houses are scarce here: 53%, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns. 39% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Median household income here: $105,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Arviat’s median household took in $105,000 before tax, 22% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). COVID-19 benefits were paid to 59% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
4.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 99% 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
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Arviat has 0.9%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%.
Arviat: 96% of residents have an Indigenous identity, above 99% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Compared with 15% across Canada’s towns, 1.1% of residents belong to a visible minority here. Elsewhere, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
7.5% have a mother tongue other than English or French
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
85% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 15% speak neither official language. On bilingual residents, Arviat sits lower than 99% of Canadian towns: 0.7%. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.3%, below 97% of Canadian towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 6.4%, a lower share than 99% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 59% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
40% of residents 15 and over were in work
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 40%; 4% of residents are 65 or over.
Youngest by rank: 1st of 41 towns of 3,273 to 3,383 people
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The span goes from 21.8 (Arviat) up to 59.2 (North Kawartha). By median age, Arviat sits among Rankin Inlet (26.8) and Inuvik (34.8).
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- 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. Nunavut 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).
Questions about Arviat’s residents
Is Arviat good for families?
Under 15: 37% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 45% of households. One-parent families: 17%. Schools near Arviat are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Arviat?
The median household in Arviat took in $105,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Arviat?
Arviat had about 3,330 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 2,864, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Arviat?
A median age of 21.8, younger than 99% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 37%, and people 65 and over 4%.
Is Arviat bilingual?
0.7% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 84% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.3%.
How diverse is Arviat?
0.9% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.1% belong to a visible minority and 96% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Arviat?
85% are Christian and 14% have no religion; 0.5% follow another religion.
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).