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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census subdivision of St. John's, CY - Newfoundland and Labrador

Map of St. John's, CY (shaded in green), Newfoundland and Labrador

Map of St. John's, CY

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: St. John's, CY - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: St. John's, CY - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
1
Nat. rank
48

In 2011, St. John's (City) had a population of 106,172, representing a percentage change of 5.5% from 2006. This compares to the national average growth of 5.9%.

Land area is 446.06 square kilometres with a population density of 238.0 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the provincial land area of 370,510.76 square kilometres with a population density of 1.4 persons per square kilometre.

In 2011, St. John's (City) had 45,026 private dwellings occupied by usual residents. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 8.4%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

St. John's (City) is part of the census metropolitan area of St. John's.

Population and dwelling counts

St. John's (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions

Table 1 St. John's (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name CSD type Population
2011 2006 % change
Conception Bay South, N.L. T 24,848 21,966 13.1
Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, N.L. T 7,366 6,575 12.0
Torbay, N.L. T 7,397 6,281 17.8
Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, N.L. T 2,098 1,978 6.1
Paradise, N.L. T 17,695 12,584 40.6
Mount Pearl, N.L. CY 24,284 24,671 -1.6
Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, N.L. T 924 915 1.0
Bay Bulls, N.L. T 1,283 1,078 19.0
Division No. 1, Subd. D, N.L. SNO 115 130 -11.5

Newfoundland and Labrador – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth

Table 2 Newfoundland and Labrador – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name CSD type Population
2011 2006 % change
Paradise T 17,695 12,584 40.6
Torbay T 7,397 6,281 17.8
Clarenville T 6,036 5,274 14.4
Conception Bay South T 24,848 21,966 13.1
Portugal Cove-St. Philip's T 7,366 6,575 12.0

Newfoundland and Labrador – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth

Table 3 Newfoundland and Labrador – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name CSD type Population
2011 2006 % change
Mount Pearl CY 24,284 24,671 -1.6
Corner Brook CY 19,886 20,083 -1.0
Happy Valley-Goose Bay T 7,552 7,572 -0.3
Grand Falls-Windsor T 13,725 13,558 1.2
Marystown T 5,506 5,436 1.3

Age and sex

St. John's, CY – Age distribution

Chart C: St. John's, CY - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: St. John's, CY - Population by broad age groups

Table 4 St. John's, CY – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 13.9% 14.9% 12.9%
15 to 64 71.5% 72.4% 70.6%
65 and over 14.7% 12.7% 16.5%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in St. John's, CY was 14.7%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 71.5% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 13.9%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

St. John's, CY – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 5 St. John's, CY – Population by broad age groups, sex and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex Population
2011 2006 change % change
Both sexes
Total 106,170 100,645 5,525 5.5
0 to 14 14,705 14,610 95 0.7
15 to 64 75,875 72,485 3,390 4.7
65 and over 15,595 13,550 2,045 15.1
Males
Total 50,500 47,480 3,020 6.4
0 to 14 7,510 7,480 30 0.4
15 to 64 36,585 34,550 2,035 5.9
65 and over 6,410 5,445 965 17.7
Females
Total 55,665 53,165 2,500 4.7
0 to 14 7,195 7,130 65 0.9
15 to 64 39,290 37,930 1,360 3.6
65 and over 9,185 8,105 1,080 13.3

St. John's, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D: St. John's, CY - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: St. John's, CY - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 6 St. John's, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 106,170 50,500 55,665
0 to 4 years 5,005 2,500 2,500
5 to 9 years 4,735 2,455 2,285
10 to 14 years 4,965 2,555 2,410
15 to 19 years 6,060 3,045 3,015
20 to 24 years 9,780 4,835 4,945
25 to 29 years 8,830 4,415 4,415
30 to 34 years 7,195 3,505 3,695
35 to 39 years 6,710 3,245 3,465
40 to 44 years 7,055 3,315 3,740
45 to 49 years 8,110 3,785 4,320
50 to 54 years 8,045 3,790 4,255
55 to 59 years 7,495 3,540 3,960
60 to 64 years 6,595 3,115 3,480
65 to 69 years 5,070 2,330 2,745
70 to 74 years 3,630 1,655 1,980
75 to 79 years 2,730 1,090 1,640
80 to 84 years 2,130 750 1,380
85 years and over 2,030 585 1,445
Median age 39.9 38.0 41.5

St. John's, CY – Median age1 of the population

Chart E: Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador and St. John's, CY - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador and St. John's, CY - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

In 2011, the median age in St. John's, CY was 39.9 years. In comparison, the median age of Newfoundland and Labrador was 44 years.

Table 7 Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador and St. John's, CY – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
Newfoundland and Labrador 41.7 44.0
St. John's, CY 39.1 39.9

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families2 in St. John's was 29,090, which represents a change of 3.9% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In St. John's, 64.1% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 15.1% were common-law-couples and 20.9% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: St. John's - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: St. John's - Census families by family structure

St. John's – Family structure

Table 8 Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, CSD of St. John's, CY and neighbouring census subdivisions – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name Total families Married-couple families Common-law-couple families Lone-parent families % change, census families, 2006 to 2011
number % number % number %
Canada † 9,389,695 6,293,950 67.0 1,567,905 16.7 1,527,840 16.3 5.5
Newfoundland and Labrador 159,385 114,335 71.7 20,630 12.9 24,420 15.3 2.3
St. John's, CY 29,090 18,635 64.1 4,385 15.1 6,070 20.9 3.9
Conception Bay South, T 7,690 5,580 72.6 995 12.9 1,115 14.5 13.8
Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, T 2,300 1,725 75.0 310 13.5 265 11.5 11.7
Torbay, T 2,235 1,605 71.8 315 14.1 305 13.6 16.1
Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, T 635 520 81.9 55 8.7 65 10.2 3.3
Paradise, T 5,415 3,995 73.8 820 15.1 595 11.0 38.8
Mount Pearl, CY 7,440 5,225 70.2 915 12.3 1,305 17.5 1.6
Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, T 285 210 73.7 30 10.5 50 17.5 1.8
Bay Bulls, T 400 285 71.3 65 16.3 50 12.5 21.2
Division No. 1, Subd. D, SNO 40 30 75.0 10 25.0 5 12.5 0.0

St. John's – Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census subdivision of St. John's, 42.4% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Presence of children within couple families
* Children aged 24 and under at home
Married couples with children * 8,455
Married couples without children * 10,180
Common-law-couples with children * 1,305
Common-law-couples without children * 3,085

St. John's – Marital status

Chart H: St. John's - Marital status

Chart H description: St. John's - Marital status

In St. John's, 51.3% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (41.7%) or living with a common-law partner (9.6%).

The remaining 48.7% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 9 Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, CY – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status St. John's, CY Newfoundland and Labrador Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 91,470 100.0 437,905 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 46,925 51.3 273,040 62.4 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 38,130 41.7 231,745 52.9 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 8,790 9.6 41,295 9.4 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 44,550 48.7 164,870 37.6 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 31,030 33.9 107,375 24.5 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 2,235 2.4 8,700 2.0 698,245 2.5
Divorced 5,725 6.3 19,855 4.5 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 5,555 6.1 28,930 6.6 1,584,525 5.7

St. John's – Types of private households

There were 45,025 private households3 in St. John's in 2011, a change of 8.5% from 2006. Of these, 21.2% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -4.5% compared with five years earlier.

Table 10 Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, CY – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type4 St. John's, CY Newfoundland and Labrador Canada
number % number % number %
Total private households 45,025 100.0 208,840 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home5		 9,535 21.2 54,010 25.9 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home6		 12,735 28.3 75,980 36.4 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households7 5,615 12.5 21,745 10.4 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 13,080 29.1 46,325 22.2 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple family households8 595 1.3 3,780 1.8 268,060 2.0
Other households9 3,460 7.7 6,995 3.3 543,340 4.1

St. John's – Structural type of dwelling

In St. John's, 44.7% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 1.1% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 11 Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, CY – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling St. John's, CY Newfoundland and Labrador Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 45,025 100.0 208,845 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 20,120 44.7 155,295 74.4 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 2,915 6.5 8,330 4.0 646,240 4.9
Row house 5,175 11.5 10,050 4.8 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 510 1.1 705 0.3 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 5,810 12.9 11,375 5.4 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 10,270 22.8 21,305 10.2 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house10 125 0.3 415 0.2 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling11 100 0.2 1,365 0.7 183,510 1.4

Language

St. John's, CY – Mother tongue

Chart J: St. John's, CY - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Chart J description: St. John's, CY - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In St. John's, 95.3% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 0.5% reported French only, and 3.8% reported a non-official language only, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 97.6% for English only, 0.5% for French only and 1.7% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 97.1% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.2% spoke only French and 2.0% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 98.5% for only English, 0.2% for only French and 1.0% for only a non-official language.

Table 12 St. John's, CY – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 104,715 100.0 104,715 100.0
English 99,750 95.3 101,680 97.1
French 500 0.5 230 0.2
Non-official language 3,960 3.8 2,105 2.0
Multiple responses 505 0.5 705 0.7
Table 13 St. John's, CY – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention12
(in percentage)
Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis Complete retention; language spoken most often at home Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English 99.9 99.8 0.1
French 59.0 34.5 24.5
Non-official language 80.5 56.8 23.7

St. John's, CY – Non-official languages

In St. John's, the three most common mother tongues were Chinese, n.o.s. (0.7%), Arabic (0.4%) and Spanish (0.3%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Innu/Montagnais (0.4%), Chinese, n.o.s. (0.2%) and Inuktitut (0.1%).

Table 14 St. John's, CY – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Number Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
Chinese, n.o.s. 705 16.4 0.7
Arabic 405 9.4 0.4
Spanish 335 7.8 0.3
Bengali 200 4.6 0.2
Urdu 160 3.7 0.2

St. John's, CY – Bilingualism

Table 15 St. John's, CY – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups Mother tongue
Total English French Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total 8.3 7.9 85.0 7.1
0 to 19 14.6 14.7 69.2 8.1
20 to 44 10.3 10.1 90.5 6.2
45 to 64 4.2 3.7 87.5 7.1
65 and over 2.1 1.6 71.4 9.1
Table 16 St. John's, CY – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 104,715 100.0
English only 95,580 91.3
French only 35 0.0
English and French 8,825 8.4
Neither English nor French 275 0.3

Symbols:

···
not applicable
†
excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A
adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E
use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.


Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.
 

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