Photo: Gordon Leggett · CC BY-SA 4.0Half of Gjoa Haven is under 23, younger than 99% of Canadian towns
Recent arrivals are 100% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. One-person households account for 14%. Gjoa Haven has more residents aged 15 to 24 than 97% of Canadian towns, at 16%. Its population is up 2% on 2016.
What stands out about the people of Gjoa Haven
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
96% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 0% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 25% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Gjoa Haven is 23; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 37% are under 15 and 5.2% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town of renters
Renters are 85% of households, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 0% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 36% of adults, more than in 98% of Canadian towns, while 15% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+2% since 2016: slower than 65% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 9%. The median across Canada’s towns was +4%.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of Canadian towns: 5.2%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
No age band is larger than 0–4: 14% of residents, 2.9 times the share across Canada’s towns. Measured more widely, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. For Gjoa Haven, the census puts children under 15 at 37%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women.
Gjoa Haven households average 4.6 people, larger than in 99% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families is 8.2%; Gjoa Haven has 12%.
More common-law partners than 98% of Canadian towns: 36%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Married residents 15 and over make up 15%, against 46% across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
85% of households rent their home, a share 99% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%; Gjoa Haven has 48%. The wider picture: a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 36% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 3.4% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Median household income here: $100,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Gjoa Haven’s, at $100,000, is 16% higher. Pandemic benefits reached 64% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
0.7% 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
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Gjoa Haven has 0.7%. The census found that 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in the town. Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns.
A higher share of Indigenous residents than 99% of Canadian towns, at 96%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Compared with 35% across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents said they have no religion here. Across Canada’s towns, Indigenous residents come to 2.8%.
64% have English as their mother tongue; 1.1% 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
At home, 5.6% mostly speak another language; 1.9% speak neither English nor French. Bilingual residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 1.5%; Gjoa Haven has 0.4%.
Below 99% of Canadian towns: 4.5% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 63% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. To put it in context, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
44% of adults were employed in May 2021
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 5.2% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 44% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The places around Gjoa Haven
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. The nearest place to Gjoa Haven with figures is 137 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gjoa Haven | 1,464 | — | 23 | 5.2% | 0.7% |
| Taloyoak | 1,046 | 137.0 km | 22.4 | 4.8% | 0% |
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. 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).
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Gjoa Haven’s residents
What is the population of Gjoa Haven?
The latest figure is an estimate: 1,464 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Gjoa Haven counted 1,349, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Gjoa Haven?
Half the residents are older than 23 and half younger; 37% are children under 15 and 5.2% are 65 or over.
Is Gjoa Haven bilingual?
1.1% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 97% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.4%.
How diverse is Gjoa Haven?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 0.7%. A visible minority makes up 0% and Indigenous residents 96%.
What religion are people in Gjoa Haven?
Most often Christian (84%) or no religion (15%); other religions make up 1.1%.
Is Gjoa Haven good for families?
Children under 15 are 37% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 38% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Gjoa Haven are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Gjoa Haven?
Median total household income in Gjoa Haven was $100,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).