Photo: Hearst1958 · CC BY-SA 4.0Hearst sits below 97% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (11%)
Most recent wave: 44% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). The census found that 24% of residents are 65 or over in Hearst. Compared with other places, renter households are common here: 39%, more than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. This Ontario town had about 5,032 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 2,255 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Hearst
A bilingual town
73% of residents can hold a conversation in both English and French, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 20% speak French only and 6.8% English only. English & French ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Hearst went from 5,070 to 4,794 residents (−5%), slower growth than in 97% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A larger share of bilingual residents than 99% of Canadian towns: 73%
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. 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
In Hearst, 84% of residents have French as their mother tongue, beside 1.5% across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Hearst changed by −5% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 97% of Canadian towns
How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Ontario’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
A median age of 48: Hearst is older than 80% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The largest age band is 60–64: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. For Hearst, the census puts children under 15 at 14%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Hearst, 48. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
Hearst households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The figure for one-person households is 35% in Hearst and 27% across Canada’s towns. In Hearst, 8% of households are one-parent families.
Above 83% of Canadian towns: 19% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns. Here, 42% of residents 15 and over are married.
Households in single-detached houses: 59%, a lower share than 56% of Canadian towns
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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 27% of homes were built before 1961 and 5.6% in 2001 or later.
$76,500 a year: the median household income
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Hearst: half had less than $76,500, 11% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Ontario’s towns have a median of $91,600. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 25% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
2.4% 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
The share of residents without Canadian citizenship trails 72% of Canadian towns: 2.3%. Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Hearst has fewer immigrants than 92% of Canadian towns, at 2.4%.
6.4% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 76% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 3.1% of residents belong to a visible minority in Hearst. The usual figure: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 14%, a lower share than 85% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 9.7% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
57% of residents 15 and over were in work
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.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, much like this 57%.
Among 41 towns of 4,960 to 5,106 people, the 13th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Between River-Osborne (31.6) and Northern Bruce Peninsula (61.6) lies the rest of the group. Electoral Area C, North Okanagan (47.2), Sussex (48), Kildonan Drive (48.2) and Electoral Area F, North Okanagan (49.2): the towns nearest Hearst in median age.
Nearby, 2 of 3 towns have older populations than Hearst
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. No closer places have figures: these lie 95–113 km from Hearst.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearst | 5,032 | — | 48 | 24% | 2.4% |
| Kapuskasing | 8,825 | 95.3 km | 48.4 | 25% | 2.5% |
| Hornepayne | 1,110 | 96.2 km | 41.2 | 16% | 2.6% |
| Moonbeam | 1,262 | 113.0 km | 55.6 | 26% | 0.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
Questions about Hearst’s residents
Is Hearst good for families?
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 53% of households and one-parent families 8%. Schools near Hearst are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Hearst?
Half of Hearst’s households had more than $76,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Hearst?
About 5,032, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 4,794 people in Hearst, 5% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Hearst?
The median age is 48, older than 80% of Canadian towns. 14% are under 15 and 24% 65 or older.
Is Hearst bilingual?
73% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 20% speak French only and 6.8% English only. French is the mother tongue of 84%.
How diverse is Hearst?
Immigrants: 2.4% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 3.1%. Indigenous identity: 6.4%.
What religion are people in Hearst?
11% said they have no religion and 87% that they are Christian; 1.6% named another faith.
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).