NHS Focus on Geography Series – Saint John

Demographic characteristics of Aboriginal people

In 2011, 2.3% (1,565) of the population of Saint John had an Aboriginal identity.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 1} Of those, 66.5% (1,040) reported a First Nations identity^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 2} only, 24.6% (385) reported a Métis identity only, and 4.8% (75) reported an Inuit identity only. An additional 60, or 3.8%, reported other Aboriginal identities and 0, or 0.0%, reported more than one Aboriginal identity.

Table 1 – Population by Aboriginal identity, Saint John

In general, the Aboriginal population in Canada is younger than the non-Aboriginal population.

In Saint John, Aboriginal children aged 14 and under represented 27.2% of the total Aboriginal population and 4.1% of all children in Saint John. Non-Aboriginal children aged 14 and under accounted for 15.0% of the non-Aboriginal population.

The age distribution of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit is shown in table 2.

Table 2 – Age distribution by Aboriginal identity, Saint John

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children

In Saint John, 42.4% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived in a family^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 3} with both their parents (biological or adoptive) and 47.1% lived in a lone-parent family.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 4} Other Aboriginal children in that age group were stepchildren,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 5} grandchildren living in a skip-generation family,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 6} foster children^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 7} or children living with other relatives.

Living arrangements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children aged 14 and under are illustrated in table 3.

Table 3 – Percentage distribution of the population aged 14 and under by living arrangement for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Saint John

Language and Aboriginal peoples

In 2011, 0.0% of the Aboriginal identity population reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, defined as the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood.

As well, 0.0% of Aboriginal people reported speaking an Aboriginal language at home: 0.0% spoke it most often while another 0.0% spoke it on a regular basis.

Linguistic characteristics of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are shown in tables 4 to 6.

Table 4 – Number and proportion of Aboriginal identity population, First Nations people, Métis and Inuit for selected Aboriginal language indicators, Saint John

In Saint John, 82.4% of the Aboriginal identity population reported that they were able to conduct a conversation only in English or only in French. Additionally, 17.6% of Aboriginal people reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages. The other 0.0%, or 0, reported that they were not able to conduct a conversation in either of these two languages.

Table 5 – Percentage distribution of the population by knowledge of official languages for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Saint John

In Saint John, among the 0 Aboriginal people who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language, % reported that same language as their mother tongue. The other % reported a different language, such as English or French, as mother tongue, which suggests these individuals have acquired an Aboriginal language as a second language.

On the other hand, among the 0 Aboriginal people who reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, % could no longer conduct a conversation in this language, despite the fact that they still understand it.

Table 6 – Population who reported an ability to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language that is not their mother tongue and population who reported an Aboriginal mother tongue but who could not conduct a conversation in that language, for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Saint John

Immigrant population

According to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 3,060 (4.5%) of the population of Saint John were foreign-born (immigrants), 64,130 (94.4%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 710 (1.0%) were non-permanent residents.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, the proportion of the population of New Brunswick who were immigrants was 3.9%, 95.7% were non-immigrants, and 0.4% were non-permanent residents.

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Saint John (City)

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Saint John (City)

Of the immigrants living in Saint John in 2011, 810 came to Canada between 2006 and 2011. These recent immigrants made up 26.5% of the immigrants in Saint John.

The most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Saint John were: United Kingdom (accounting for 17.3% of the immigrant population in Saint John) and United States (17.0%). In comparison, the top countries of birth of immigrants living in New Brunswick were: United States (accounting for 28.9% of the immigrant population in New Brunswick), and United Kingdom (18.5%).

In 2011, among Saint John's immigrant population, 66.3% spoke English and/or French most often at home. Meanwhile, the three most frequently reported non-official languages spoken most often at home by immigrants in Saint John were Korean, Chinese, n.o.s. and Spanish. This compared to the top three non-official languages for immigrants in New Brunswick, which were Korean, Spanish and Chinese, n.o.s..^{Ethnocultural Footnote 2}

Table 1 – Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Visible minority population and ethnic origins

The 2011 NHS estimated that 3,405 individuals in Saint John belonged to a visible minority group, accounting for 5.0% of its total population.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, visible minorities comprised 2.3% of New Brunswick's population.

The largest visible minority groups living in Saint John were Black and Chinese. In New Brunswick, the largest visible minority groups were Black and Chinese.

The three most frequently reported ethnic origins in Saint John, for people reporting either one or multiple ethnic origins, were Canadian, Irish and English. This compared to the top three in New Brunswick, which were Canadian, French and English.

Table 2 – Most frequently reported ethnic origins, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Religion

According to the 2011 NHS, 81.6% of the population in Saint John reported a religious affiliation, while 18.4% said they had no religious affiliation.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} For New Brunswick as a whole, 84.9% of the population reported a religious affiliation, while 15.1% had no religion.

The most frequently reported religious affiliation in Saint John was Roman Catholic, reported by 27,185 (40.0%) of the population. Other frequently reported religions included: Anglican (12.0%) and Baptist (9.7%). In comparison, the top three most frequently reported religions in New Brunswick were: Roman Catholic (reported by 49.7% of the population of New Brunswick), Baptist (9.6%) and United Church (7.4%).

Table 3 – Most frequently reported religions, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Educational attainment ^{Education Footnote 1}

In 2011, 51.1% of the 48,355 adults aged 25 years and over in Saint John had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.

Of the population aged 25 years and over in Saint John, 18.0% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 20.8% had a college diploma and 12.3% had a trades certificate.

The share of the adult population that had completed a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment was 29.9%, and 19.0% had completed neither high school nor any postsecondary certificates, diplomas or degrees.

Table 1 – Population aged 25 and over by highest level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Saint John (City), New Brunswick, Canada

Overall, successive generations of Canadians have been completing high school and attaining postsecondary qualifications in increasing proportions. In 2011, 41.7% of Canadians aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential; this compares with 69.5% among adults between the ages of 25 and 44. As well, 35.7% of those aged 65 years and over had not completed any certificate, diploma or degree compared with 9.5% of individuals aged 25 to 44.

In Saint John, 33.3% of those aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential, compared to 62.4% of adults between 25 and 44 years of age; 38.0% of individuals aged 65 years and over had no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 9.5% of 25 to 44 year-olds.

Saint John (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Saint John (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Major field of study

Table 2 – Most common fields of study^{Education Footnote 9} for the population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications, Saint John (City), New Brunswick, Canada

Location of study^{Education Footnote 11}

In 2011, there were 24,695 residents of Saint John aged 25 years and over with postsecondary credentials. Of these graduates, 76.9% had studied in New Brunswick, 16.4% had studied in another province or territory and 6.7% had studied outside Canada. Nationally, 72.5% of graduates had studied in the same province/territory in which they lived in 2011, 10.4% had studied in another province or territory and 17.1% had studied outside Canada.

In all provinces, individuals with trades or college certificates were more likely than those with university credentials to have earned their highest certificate, diploma or degree in the province in which they lived in 2011.

Table 3 – Population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by location of study and by level of educational attainment, Saint John (City)

Labour

In Saint John, 32,770 people were employed and 3,525 were unemployed for a total labour force of 36,295 in May 2011. The employment rate was at 57.0% and the unemployment rate was at 9.7%.

Table 1 Total population aged 15 years and over by labour force status, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Within Saint John, 14.5% of the employed labour force was aged 15 to 24 and 15.1% was aged 55 to 64. This compares to 12.9% and 16.3% respectively for New Brunswick.

Table 2 Employed labour force by age groups, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Within Saint John, the top occupations were: Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations; Industrial, electrical and construction trades; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.. For New Brunswick as a whole the top occupations were: Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations; Industrial, electrical and construction trades; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c..

Table 3 Top occupations for the employed labour force, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Within Saint John, the top industries were: Health care and social assistance; Retail trade; Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services. For New Brunswick as a whole the top industries were: Health care and social assistance; Retail trade; Public administration.

Table 4 Top industries for the employed labour force, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

The number of self-employed in Saint John amounted to 2,045 or 6.2% of all total employed workers.

Table 5 Employed labour force by class of workers, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

In 2011, 7.2% of commuters within Saint John used public transit to get to work. This compares to New Brunswick at 2.2%. 73.0% of the population used a car, truck or van as a driver, while 10.5% used a car, truck or van as a passenger. The average commuting time to work in Saint John was 17.0 minutes, this compares to New Brunswick at 19.1 minutes.

Within Saint John, 84.9% of the employed labour force aged 15 years and over worked at their usual place, 3.1% worked at home and 11.8% had no fixed workplace address.

Table 6 Employed labour force by mode of transportation, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Table 7 Average commuting duration for the employed labour force, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Table 8 Employed Labour force by time leaving for work, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Table 9 Employed labour force by place of work status, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

In Saint John, 97.9% (37,905) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.9% (350) reported French only and 0.7% (270) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. In addition, 0.1% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work and 0.4% a non-official language only.

Furthermore, 0.7% (265) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported working in English on a regular basis, 4.1% (1,605) in French on a regular basis and 0.0% (0) in the country's two official languages on a regular basis. In addition, 0.0% (0) of of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language on a regular basis at work and 0.3% (120) a non-official language only.

In New Brunswick, 74.0% (317,315) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 21.9% (93,970) reported French only and 3.8 (16,395) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. Furthermore, 0.1% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work.

As for the language used at work on a regular basis in New Brunswick, the proportions are as follows: 10.6% (45,620) reported using English; 10.1% (43,255) use French; 0.0% (0) use both official languages; 0.0% (160) reported using an official language and a non-official language; and 0.4% (1,565) a non-official language only.

Table 10 Languages used at work, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

In Saint John, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Arabic, Chinese languages and Spanish, which account respectively for 0.1% (60), 0.1% (60) and 0.0% (35) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011.

In New Brunswick, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Mi'kmaq, Spanish and Korean, which account respectively for 0.1% (785), 0.0% (350) and 0.0% (285) of the population aged 15 years and older who worked in 2010 or 2011.

Table 11 Non-official languages used at work, Saint John (City), New Brunswick

Income composition

The total income for the population in private households can be broken down into two basic components: market income^{Income Footnote 1} and government transfers.^{Income Footnote 2} In Saint John, 84.1% of total income was from market income in 2010 and 15.9% was from government transfers. (Aggregate total income for Saint John was 1.9 billion dollars in 2010.)

Figure 1 Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Market income's main component was employment income. In Saint John, it accounted for $86.30 of every $100 of market income, slightly above the figure for New Brunswick of $85.30. For the two components of employment income, wages and salaries represented $83.60 and net income from self-employment, $2.70.

The other components of market income were smaller than employment income: in Saint John, investment income represented $2.40 per $100 of market income, retirement income, $9.10 and $2.20 came from other private sources of money.

The government transfers received in Saint John were Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan with $30.90 of every $100 of total government transfers received, Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement ($27.10), Employment Insurance benefits ($15.90), Other income from government sources ($15.50), and Child benefits ($10.70).

Table 1 – Income composition for the population in private households in 2010, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

High total income

Among the Canadian population in private households aged 15 years and over, ten percent had total incomes of more than $80,400 in 2010. To be in the top five percent, Canadians needed to have a total income of slightly above $102,300 and to be in the top one percent required just over $191,100, nearly seven times the national median income of $27,800.^{Income Footnote 3}

In Saint John, 2.7% percent of the population aged 15 years and over had total income that put them in the top five percent and 0.4% in the top one percent. This compared with 5.0% and 1.0% in Canada.

Table 2 – Population aged 15 years and over by total income, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

A national map showing the spatial distribution of persons with total income in the top five percent of persons with the highest total income is also available. Canada. Percentage of population in top five percent of total income in 2010 by 2011 census division (CD)

Employment income

Of those persons with employment income in Saint John, 55.7% worked full year, full time^{Income Footnote 4} in 2010 compared to 50.9% in New Brunswick. The median employment income was $41,028 for these workers ($41,615 for those in New Brunswick).

The top three most common occupations for those working full-year full-time in 2010 in Saint John were Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations; Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations; and Industrial, electrical and construction trades.

Table 3 – Median earnings of the most common full-year, full-time occupations in 2010, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Family income

The median after-tax income of economic families in Saint John in 2010 was $55,833, the median for couple families was $63,217 and for lone-parent families, $32,032. For persons not in economic families (persons living alone or with non relatives only), the median after-tax income was $22,206.

These compare to the medians in New Brunswick of $57,867 for after-tax family income of all economic families, $62,546 for couple families, $35,308 for lone-parent families and $21,935 for persons living alone or without relatives.

Table 4 – Median after-tax income in 2010 for economic families and persons not in economic families, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Figure 2 Median after-tax income in 2010 for Saint John, New Brunswick and Canada

Median after-tax income in 2010 for Saint John, New Brunswick and Canada

Families came in different sizes and larger families may have benefited from pooling of resources and economies of scale. In Saint John, based on their after-tax income adjusted for family size, 41.4% of the population was in the top half of the income distribution, similar to the rate of 42.0% in New Brunswick.

In Saint John, the percentage of the population in the lowest income decile group^{Income Footnote 6} at 14.2% was higher than in New Brunswick (10.5%). The percentage of the population in the highest decile group was 5.2%, similar to that in New Brunswick (5.1%).

Table 5 – Population in private households by adjusted after-tax family income in 2010, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Low income^{Income Footnote 7}

In the NHS, a relative measure is used to classify persons by income status: the low-income measure based on after-tax income (LIM-AT). For this measure, the income threshold is half the Canadian median of after-tax household income. The income has been adjusted to account for household size. Persons in households with a household income below this threshold^{Income Footnote 8} were considered to be in low income.

Based on the after-tax income low-income measure, the proportion of the population in low income in Saint John was 22.3%, above the rate of 17.2% observed in New Brunswick. In Saint John, compared to the population of all ages, for persons under 18, the rate was higher (31.8%) and for the population aged 65 years and over, it was lower at 18.9%.

Table 6 – Income status based on after-tax low-income measure (LIM-AT) in 2010, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

A map showing the proportion of the population in low income within Atlantic Region is also available.

Housing

The number of households in Saint John was 30,755. The homeownership rate in Saint John was 57.4% - which was lower than the New Brunswick homeownership rate of 75.7%.

Table 1 – Housing tenure for all households, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Saint John – Affordability^{Housing Footnote 1}

Households in Saint John that paid 30% or more of household total income toward shelter costs represented 27.0% of non-farm, non-reserve households with total income greater than zero. This proportion was higher than the New Brunswick proportion (18.9%).

A lower proportion of owner households paid 30% or more compared to tenant households in Saint John (17.8% for owners versus 39.3% for renters).

Households in Saint John paid an average monthly shelter cost of $828 – which was higher than the New Brunswick amount of $762. The average monthly shelter cost for tenant households was $642, this was lower than the average monthly shelter cost for owner households of $965.

Table 2 – Housing affordability for non-farm, non-reserve households, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Saint John – Need for major repairs^{Housing Footnote 2}

In Saint John, 9.9% of households reported living in dwellings that required major repairs. This was higher than the New Brunswick proportion of 9.8%. The proportion of households reporting major repair requirements was higher for owners than renters (10.0% for owner-occupied dwellings and 9.9% for renter-occupied dwellings).

Table 3 – Need for major repairs by housing tenure, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Saint John – Suitability

In Saint John, 4.0% of households lived in dwellings that were not suitable; that is, the dwelling was crowded because there were not enough bedrooms based on the National Occupancy Standard.^{Housing Footnote 3} This was higher than the New Brunswick proportion of 3.1%. The proportion of households living in dwellings that were not suitable was lower for owners than renters (2.8% for owner households and 5.6% for renter households).

Table 4 – Housing suitability by housing tenure, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Related data

• 2011 NHS Profile – Saint John, City (Census Subdivision), New Brunswick
• 2011 NHS Data Tables – Saint John, City (Census Subdivision), New Brunswick
  • Aboriginal Peoples
  • Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity
  • Education and Labour
  • Income and Housing
• 2011 Census Focus on Geography Series – Saint John, City (Census Subdivision), New Brunswick