Photo: Qui1che · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Greater Madawaska is over 58.8, older than 99% of Canadian towns
Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in Greater Madawaska comes in at 98%. Here, 7% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Few places have as many Indigenous residents: 5.5% here, more than in 73% of Canadian towns. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 3,234 for July 2025.
What stands out about the people of Greater Madawaska
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Greater Madawaska is 58.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 33% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Greater Madawaska went from 2,518 people in 2016 to 2,864 in 2021, +14%: faster growth than in 90% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+14% since 2016, a pace 90% of Canadian towns didn’t match
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 13%. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%.
Greater Madawaska sits above 96% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (33%)
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with 14% of residents, 2 times the share across Canada’s towns. Typically, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Children under 15: nearly a tenth of the total.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Greater Madawaska, 58.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women.
Smaller households than 83% of Canadian towns: 2.1 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families is 4.5%, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns. Here, 29% of households are one person living alone.
More married residents 15 and over than 83% of Canadian towns: 56%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 17% of adults (typical: 27%). Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners account for 11%.
5.9% of households rent their home, below 98% of Canadian towns
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 27% date from 2001 or later, 17% from before 1961. As a yardstick, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 11% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
The middle household earns $81,000 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
The middle household in Greater Madawaska had $81,000 before tax, 6% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. Pandemic benefits reached 20% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Greater Madawaska sits below 68% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (9.3%)
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (76%) or in the Americas (17%). Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Fewer immigrants than in just over four fifths of Canadian towns: 5.1%. What’s more, 6.9% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns.
33% of residents said they have no religion, below 58% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
0.9% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Greater Madawaska sits above 69% of Canadian towns for bilingual residents (14%)
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: English 98%, French 1%. The share of bilingual residents across Canada’s towns is 7.5%. Few places have as many residents whose mother tongue is French: 3.8% here, more than in 70% of Canadian towns.
16% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 80% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
7.7% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 44% of residents aged 15 and over
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
44% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 33% are 65 or more.
Oldest by rank: 3rd of 41 towns of 3,178 to 3,292 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Median ages here range from 32 in Coalhurst to 61.2 in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast. Dalhousie (58), French River / Rivière des Français (58), Saint-Alexis-des-Monts (59.2) and Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast (61.2): the towns nearest Greater Madawaska in median age.
No nearby town is as old as Greater Madawaska
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Distances here run 20–27 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Greater Madawaska.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Madawaska | 3,234 | — | 58.8 | 33% | 5.1% |
| Admaston/Bromley | 3,086 | 19.7 km | 45.2 | 20% | 3.2% |
| Renfrew | 8,721 | 21.0 km | 54 | 32% | 3.6% |
| Horton | 3,550 | 26.6 km | 48.8 | 23% | 3.1% |
| McNab/Braeside | 8,340 | 27.1 km | 48 | 22% | 4.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- 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.
Questions about Greater Madawaska’s residents
How diverse is Greater Madawaska?
Immigrants: 5.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 0.9%. Indigenous identity: 5.5%.
What religion are people in Greater Madawaska?
33% said they have no religion and 67% that they are Christian; 0.9% named another faith.
Is Greater Madawaska good for families?
9.3% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 59% of households and one-parent families 4.5%. Schools near Greater Madawaska are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Greater Madawaska?
Half of Greater Madawaska’s households had more than $81,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Greater Madawaska?
About 3,234, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,864 people in Greater Madawaska, 14% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Greater Madawaska?
The median age is 58.8, older than 99% of Canadian towns. 9.3% are under 15 and 33% 65 or older.
Is Greater Madawaska bilingual?
English and French: 14% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 86%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 3.8%.
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).