Photo: Nicholas4343 · CC BY-SA 3.0In Atikokan, 19% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
The figure for households in single-detached houses is 92% in Atikokan and 64% across Canada’s towns. This Ontario town had about 2,796 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 1,260 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that 5.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in the town. Compared with other places, immigrants are scarce here: 5.2%, fewer than in 81% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Atikokan
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
19% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 96% of Canadian towns; 8.1% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Atikokan went from 2,753 people in 2016 to 2,642 in 2021, −4%: slower growth than in 95% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Atikokan is 51.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
41% of households are one person living alone, more than in 89% of Canadian towns; 27% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Atikokan changed by −4% from 2016 to 2021, behind 95% 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
The July 2025 estimate adds another 6%.
A median age of 51.6: Atikokan is older than 89% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; Atikokan has 14%. Few places have as many residents aged 65 and over: 27% here, more than in 85% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Atikokan, 51.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
41% of households are one person living alone, more than in 89% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.1 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Here, 7.9% of households are one-parent families. As a yardstick, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Married residents 15 and over make up 43% in Atikokan, less than in 62% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up a quarter of adults, beside a typical 27%. Census figures put common-law partners at 12% in Atikokan. For comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of renter households than 68% of Canadian towns, at 18%
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
Older homes outnumber new: 62% predate 1961, 3.2% date from 2001 or later. The benchmark for renter households across Canada’s towns: 25%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. 15% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Half of households earn more than $69,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Atikokan: half had less than $69,000, 20% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 17% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
5.2% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents without Canadian citizenship is 5.8%; Atikokan has 1%. Most immigrants were born in Europe (67%) or in the Americas (19%).
Above 65% of Canadian towns: 40% of residents said they have no religion
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents is 3.3%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
94% have English as their mother tongue; 3.8% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Where 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, Atikokan has 3.8%. On the census count, 2.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 12%, a lower share than 89% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 13% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 46% of adults
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 46% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 27% of residents are 65 or over.
41 towns of 2,756 to 2,835 people: this is the 11th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The youngest is Kuujjuaq (28.8) and the oldest Saint-Côme (57.6). The closest ages to Atikokan’s belong to Senneterre (48.8), Front of Yonge (51.6), Ferme-Neuve (53.2) and Maria (53.2).
2 of the 5 nearest towns are older than Atikokan
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Distances here run 73–151 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Atikokan.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atikokan | 2,796 | — | 51.6 | 27% | 5.2% |
| Ignace | 1,210 | 72.9 km | 53.6 | 29% | 7.1% |
| Rainy River, Unorganized | 1,498 | 111.4 km | 54.4 | 26% | 5.6% |
| Fort Frances | 7,607 | 132.4 km | 46.4 | 23% | 5.3% |
| Dryden | 7,808 | 143.8 km | 48 | 24% | 6.1% |
| Sioux Lookout | 6,122 | 150.6 km | 38 | 14% | 6.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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 Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Ontario’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Atikokan’s residents
What religion are people in Atikokan?
Most often Christian (59%) or no religion (40%); other religions make up 1.1%.
Is Atikokan good for families?
Children under 15 are 14% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 46% of households and one-parent families 7.9%. Schools near Atikokan are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Atikokan?
Median total household income in Atikokan was $69,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Atikokan?
The latest figure is an estimate: 2,796 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Atikokan counted 2,642, 4% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Atikokan?
Half the residents are older than 51.6 and half younger, older than 89% of Canadian towns; 14% are children under 15 and 27% are 65 or over.
Is Atikokan bilingual?
3.8% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 96% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.3%.
How diverse is Atikokan?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 5.2%. A visible minority makes up 3.3% and Indigenous residents 19%.
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).