Cambridge BayNunavut
Statistics Canada counts it in the Territories (outside CAs, Nvt.) / Territoires (à l'extérieur des AR, Nt) metro area. Population 1,931: a town in Nunavut.
Is Cambridge Bay a good place to live?
Cambridge Bay’s best grade is for hazard risk (A+). Police record more crime here than in most towns (D−). A median home here was worth $400,000 at the census, or 3.2 times what the middle household earns in a year. Health is a weak point (D).
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. With fewer than 2,500 residents, Cambridge Bay gets subject grades but no overall one among Canadian towns.
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. No Cost Grade: fewer than 30% of households own their home here, so neither the home value nor the rent is a market price. 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.
How Cambridge Bay grades
Each subject compares Cambridge Bay with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
With fewer than 2,500 residents, Cambridge Bay gets subject grades but no overall one among Canadian towns.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Cambridge Bay stand out
The 3 things Cambridge Bay does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cambridge Bay.
Few places are as safe from hazards as Cambridge Bay: it beats almost every Canadian town
Seismic risk runs low: $0.006 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. No flood study for Cambridge Bay is on the national inventory.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 0% | – | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.006 | – | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Crime runs heavier where Cambridge Bay is policed than in Canadian towns, at an index of 631
The force’s area logs 398.2 thefts, break-ins and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Violent incidents in its police area came to 217.6 per 1,000 residents a year, above Canadian towns (12). For Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000, the only official count covers all of the Cambridge Bay detachment area, Cambridge Bay included.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index | 631 | – | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 1,047 | – | 86 |
| Violent crime | 217.6 | – | 12 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 398.2 | – | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
On health, Cambridge Bay falls short of 91% of Canadian towns
On average 20% of adults live with arthritis, diabetes or high blood pressure, above Canadian towns (17%). About as many adults call their health very good or excellent here as across Nunavut, 39% against 39%. In addition, across the region, life runs to 70.9 years on average: women 72.4, men 69.4, in 2022/2024. Closer to home, a hospital is just 2.0 km from the average resident of Cambridge Bay, nearer than the usual 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very good or excellent health | 39% | – | 52% |
| Smokers | 63% | – | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 70.9 | – | 81.5 |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 20% | – | 17% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Health survey and life expectancy: one figure for all of the Nunavut health region
The nearest high school to Cambridge Bay is 831 km away
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiilinik High SchoolIn Cambridge BayElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 831 km | – | 1.2 km |
| Nearest elementary school | 829 km | – | 0.5 km |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · In Nunavut, no schools grade. The province publishes no results school by school.
Cambridge Bay has cooler summers than Canadian towns: July highs of 13.3°C
The coldest nights come in January, when Cambridge Bay averages a low of −34.6°C. There are 277 days of frost in a typical year, above Canadian towns (159). Gardeners get 69 frost-free days, from 23 June to 1 September. A normal October brings 17 cm of snow, the most of any month.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 13.3°C | – | 25.5°C |
| January night low | −34.6°C | – | −13.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 277 | – | 159 |
| Precipitation a year | 150 mm | – | 883 mm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Cambridge Bay)
Trips to work from Cambridge Bay are shorter than from Canadian towns: 10 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 10 min | – | 26 min |
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.
More of Cambridge Bay’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Canadian towns: 83%
4.6% of residents belong to a visible minority, lower than Canadian towns (15%). Immigrants make up 4.3% of residents, below Canadian towns (6.4%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 50.0% of Cambridge Bay
Here the census found 880 men and 880 women; the figure for women across Canada is 50.9%.
| Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 24% | – | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 69% | – | 64% |
| 65+ | 6.5% | – | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 44% | – | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 38% | – | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Nunavut and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Renting in Cambridge Bay costs 6% of household income, less than in Canadian towns
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 4% of households, below Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 6% | – | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 4% | – | 18% |
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.
Expect November days around −18°C in Cambridge Bay, nights around −25°C
Snowfall in a normal November: 11 cm. December follows at −24°C by day and −31°C by night. A normal November brings 9 mm of rain and snow. July brings the warmest days, 13°C; February the coldest nights, −36°C.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −27°C | −34°C | 18 mm |
| Spring | −15°C | −23°C | 23 mm |
| Summer | 10°C | 3°C | 68 mm |
| Autumn | −7°C | −13°C | 42 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Cambridge Bay); the forecast is on the Weather page
At 34%, 2021 turnout in Nunavut trailed 99% of the country’s ridings
Cambridge Bay is a hamlet by Statistics Canada’s count of municipalities.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library is mapped in or near Cambridge Bay
Library statistics aren’t published openly in Nunavut, so there are no visit or loan figures for Cambridge Bay.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Parks and protected land around Cambridge Bay
National parks are all over 100 km off. One protected area lies within 10 km. On top of that, of the country within 10 km, 1.2% lies in protected areas; the median Canadian town has 2.3%. 26 beaches are mapped within 5 km, none with a name.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Cambridge Bay | Nunavut | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | – | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 1.2% | – | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Cambridge Bay
About Cambridge Bay
Town in Nunavut
TownRatings counts Cambridge Bay as Statistics Canada does, as one municipality in Nunavut; the census, crime and housing figures all follow that boundary.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,931 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Nunavut
- Census division
- Kitikmeot
- Metro area
- Territories (outside CAs, Nvt.) / Territoires (à l'extérieur des AR, Nt)
- Census subdivision
- 6208073
Questions about Cambridge Bay
How old are the people of Cambridge Bay?
The median resident is 30.4 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 24% are under 15 and 7% are 65 or over.
What kind of homes are in Cambridge Bay?
Single-detached houses make up 43% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 21% of households are one person, and the average is 3.1.
Has Cambridge Bay grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 1,766 to 1,760 residents (0.3% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 1,931.
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).