Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 89% of Canadian towns: half of Thunder Bay, Unorganized is over 51.6
Here 94% of households live in a single-detached house, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 64%. At the same time, 7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 96% of Canadian towns. Thunder Bay, Unorganized is home to some 6,831 people (July 2025 estimate), in 2,785 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that 47% of residents said they have no religion here.
What stands out about the people of Thunder Bay, Unorganized
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 13% of residents, more than in 92% of Canadian towns, and 8.7% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Line Thunder Bay, Unorganized’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 51.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 25% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Thunder Bay, Unorganized’s population changed by +6% since 2016, more than in 62% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 10%. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Ontario’s towns, by more than +6%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 25%, a higher share than 81% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Where 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, Thunder Bay, Unorganized has 15%. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Thunder Bay, Unorganized, 51.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 74% 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.
One-parent families make up 5.6% of households and couple families 57%, against 8.2% and 53% across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 30%, more than in 63% of Canadian towns.
A higher share of common-law partners than 77% of Canadian towns, at 15%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Set against 46% across Canada’s towns, half of residents 15 and over are married in Thunder Bay, Unorganized. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Fewer renter households than 92% of Canadian towns: 9%
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
14% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. The comparison figure for renter households is 25% across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
The midpoint household income is $82,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Thunder Bay, Unorganized’s median household took in $82,000 before tax, about the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Ontario’s towns have a median of $91,600. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 21% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 92% of Canadian towns, at 6.7%
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
Residents without Canadian citizenship make up 0.8%, against 5.8% across Canada’s towns. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%. On the census count, 6.9% of residents are immigrants.
In Thunder Bay, Unorganized, 13% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 92% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here 0.9% of residents belong to a visible minority, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 15%. Typically, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 89%, and 5.9% 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
At home: English 98%, French 0.8%. Bilingual residents are rarer here than in 64% of Canadian towns. Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 2.3%.
Thunder Bay, Unorganized ranks below 64% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 21%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 13%, against 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 48%
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.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 48%; 25% of residents are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 6,671 to 6,996 people, the 5th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Southern Gulf Islands is the oldest at 61.6, Rhineland the youngest at 27.2. In age, Thunder Bay, Unorganized keeps company with Barrington (50), Stephenville (50.8), Annapolis County, Subdivision A (57.2) and Perth (58.4).
Thunder Bay, Unorganized is younger than 1 of its 3 nearest neighbours
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Distances here run 23–30 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Thunder Bay, Unorganized.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay, Unorganized | 6,831 | — | 51.6 | 25% | 6.9% |
| Oliver Paipoonge | 6,524 | 23.4 km | 46 | 21% | 6% |
| Thunder Bay | 117,671 | 24.6 km | 44 | 22% | 8.6% |
| Shuniah | 3,458 | 29.8 km | 55.2 | 30% | 6.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- 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 Thunder Bay, Unorganized’s residents
Is Thunder Bay, Unorganized bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5.9% are. Another 0.2% speak only French and 94% only English, and French is the first language of 2.3%.
How diverse is Thunder Bay, Unorganized?
Immigrants make up 6.9% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 0.9% are members of a visible minority, and 13% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Thunder Bay, Unorganized?
Christian: 51%. No religion: 47%. Another religion: 1.7%.
Is Thunder Bay, Unorganized good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 57% of households are couple families and 5.6% one-parent families. Schools near Thunder Bay, Unorganized are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Thunder Bay, Unorganized?
$82,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Thunder Bay, Unorganized (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Thunder Bay, Unorganized?
Statistics Canada estimates 6,831 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 6,221 in Thunder Bay, Unorganized, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Thunder Bay, Unorganized?
51.6 is the median age, older than 89% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 25%.
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).