Deer Lake is younger than 99% of Canadian towns: a median age of 23.4
Deer Lake is a First Nations reserve, the home of Deer Lake. Against a figure of 27% across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households in Deer Lake comes in at 14%. On the census count, 3.8% of households rent their home. More residents with no religion than in 95% of Canadian towns: 58%. The 2021 Census found 260 households in the community; by July 2025 the population was about 1,030.
What stands out about the people of Deer Lake
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
98% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 97% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 16% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Deer Lake is 23.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are under 15 and 2.3% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Deer Lake went from 867 to 1,087 residents (+25%), faster growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Growth of +25% since 2016 puts Deer Lake ahead of 98% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Ontario’s towns +6%. By July 2025, the estimate was 5% lower.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of Canadian towns: 2.3%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Residents aged 15 to 24: 16%, above 96% of Canadian towns. Typically, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women.
Deer Lake households average 4.1 people, larger than in 99% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
15% of households are one-parent families, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
Below 91% of Canadian towns: 28% of residents 15 and over are married
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The figure for common-law partners is 18% in Deer Lake and 11% across Canada’s towns. By way of comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Above 98% of Canadian towns: 96% of households live in a single-detached house
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. The wider picture: 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 44% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Household income, middle of the range: $64,500 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Deer Lake’s households had a total income below $64,500, 25% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 13% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Indigenous residents make up 98% in Deer Lake, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority; in Deer Lake, 1.8%. The wider picture: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 77%, and 0.5% speak French as well
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
An Indigenous language is the mother tongue of 16%. Fewer bilingual residents than in 99% of Canadian towns: 0.5%.
Deer Lake ranks below 99% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 3%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 71% here, 9.5% in the typical town. To put it in context, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
42% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 42%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 2.3% are 65 or over.
Deer Lake is older than every town around it
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 69–152 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Deer Lake.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Lake | 1,030 | — | 23.4 | 2.3% | 0% |
| Sandy Lake 88 | 2,175 | 68.8 km | 22.8 | 3.6% | 0% |
| St. Theresa Point | 3,619 | 136.9 km | 19.8 | 3.4% | 0% |
| Garden Hill First Nation | 3,143 | 140.2 km | 21.4 | 4.4% | 0% |
| Wasagamack | 2,175 | 152.4 km | 19 | 3.4% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A First Nations reserve. Reserves are compared with Canada’s towns but aren’t counted among them: they have no overall grade and no place in ranked lists. Census figures for small reserves are rounded, and some are suppressed.
- 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.
- 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. Two medians frame each figure: one for Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
Questions about Deer Lake’s residents
What is the average age in Deer Lake?
23.4 is the median age. Under 15: 36%. 65 and over: 2.3%.
Is Deer Lake bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 0.5% are. Another 0% speak only French and 99% only English, and French is the first language of 0%.
How diverse is Deer Lake?
1.8% of residents belong to a visible minority and 98% have an Indigenous identity; Statistics Canada suppresses the immigration figures for Deer Lake.
What religion are people in Deer Lake?
Christian: 34%. No religion: 58%. Another religion: 7.8%.
Is Deer Lake good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 36%. 46% of households are couple families and 15% one-parent families. Schools near Deer Lake are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Deer Lake?
$64,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Deer Lake (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Deer Lake?
Statistics Canada estimates 1,030 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 1,087 in Deer Lake, 25% more than 2016.
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).