Photo: Roncanada · CC BY 4.0A larger share of one-parent families than 90% of Canadian towns: 12%
With residents who moved in within the year at 15%, Thurso is ahead of 78% of Canadian towns on that count. The 2021 Census found 1,420 households here; by July 2025 the population was about 3,439. On the census count, 0.8% of residents belong to a visible minority. Immigrants are rarer here than in 98% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Thurso
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 27% of adults, more than in 90% of Canadian towns, while 28% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Thurso ranks above 87% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 43%
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Against a figure of 66% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is English in Thurso comes in at 2.9%. Across Canada’s towns, bilingual residents come to 7.5%.
Thurso grew +9% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 79% of Canadian towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Quebec’s towns, by more than +4%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 12% higher again.
18% of residents are under 15, more than in 72% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 20%, against 19% across Canada’s towns. By contrast, with a median age of 41.6, Thurso is younger than 53% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. The largest age band is 60–64: nearly one in ten residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Thurso, 41.6. 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.
36% of households are one person living alone, a share 81% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The comparison figure for one-person households is 27% across Canada’s towns.
27% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a share 90% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, 46% of residents 15 and over are married; in Thurso, 28%. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Thurso ranks above 68% of Canadian towns on renter households: 36%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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. Renter households: 25% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Across Thurso, 52% of households live in a single-detached house.
Households here have a median income of $62,000 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
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Thurso’s, at $62,000, is 28% lower. $74,000 is the median household income across Quebec’s towns. The pandemic’s benefits: 29% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
0.8% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Where 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns, Thurso has 0.5%.
Fewer residents with no religion than 75% of Canadian towns: 26%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of Indigenous residents tops 69% of Canadian towns: 4.8%. On average, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Thurso sits below 99% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (6.2%)
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Employment: 55% of residents 15 and over had a job
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 55%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 20% of residents are 65 or over.
Ranked by age, 10th youngest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier is the youngest of them at 32.8; Electoral Area F, Columbia-Shuswap, at 61.2, the oldest. The closest ages to Thurso’s belong to Sakaw (39.3), West Jasper Place (40), Saint-Thomas (42) and Ramsay Heights (42.6).
Every nearby town is older than Thurso
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurso | 3,439 | — | 41.6 | 20% | 0.8% |
| Lochaber-Partie-Ouest | 1,016 | 6.8 km | 42 | 15% | 2.7% |
| Rockland | 30,375 | 7.7 km | 43.2 | 19% | 6.1% |
| Plaisance | 1,191 | 10.3 km | 51.2 | 25% | 0% |
| L'Ange-Gardien | 7,068 | 13.5 km | 42 | 13% | 1.7% |
| Vallée-de-la-Lièvre | 15,388 | 14.4 km | 42.4 | 20% | 2% |
| Cumberland | 6,139 | 16.6 km | 46.5 | 20% | 12% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- 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.
Questions about Thurso’s residents
What is the median income in Thurso?
Median total household income in Thurso was $62,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Thurso?
The latest figure is an estimate: 3,439 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Thurso counted 3,084, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Thurso?
Half the residents are older than 41.6 and half younger, younger than 53% of Canadian towns; 18% are children under 15 and 20% are 65 or over.
Is Thurso bilingual?
English and French: 43% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 1.3%. French only: 56%. French mother tongue: 94%.
How diverse is Thurso?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 0.8%. A visible minority makes up 0.8% and Indigenous residents 4.8%.
What religion are people in Thurso?
Most often Christian (73%) or no religion (26%); other religions make up 0.5%.
Is Thurso good for families?
Children under 15 are 18% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 45% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Thurso are on its Schools page.
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).