Children under 15 make up 24% in Duchess, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns, against 5.3% in Duchess. The 2021 Census found 375 households locally; by July 2025 the population was about 1,045. Indigenous residents: 9.5% of the total. At 14%, the share of renter households is lower than in 78% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Duchess
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Duchess went from 1,085 to 1,053 residents (−3%), slower growth than in 91% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Duchess is 36.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are under 15 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−3% since 2016: slower than 91% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Alberta’s towns +1%. The estimate for July 2025 is much the same as the census count.
Duchess is younger than 85% of Canadian towns: a median age of 36.4
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 11%, against 19% across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 13% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women.
Duchess: 12% of households are one-parent families, above 90% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
A household here has 2.8 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. Locally, 17% of households are one person living alone. Across the comparison, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
More married residents 15 and over than 67% of Canadian towns: 52%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Against a figure of 11% across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners in Duchess comes in at 12%. Typically, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of households in single-detached houses than 83% of Canadian towns, at 87%
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. The comparison figure for households in single-detached houses is 64% across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 30% date from 2001 or later, 5.1% from before 1961.
$95,000 a year: where the middle household sits
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
Household incomes run high in Duchess: half had more than $95,000, 10% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Alberta’s towns is $92,200. 30% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
7.6% 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 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
With residents without Canadian citizenship at 1.9%, Duchess is behind 77% of Canadian towns on that count. Fewer immigrants than in 71% of Canadian towns: 7.6%.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 65% of Canadian towns: 40%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
1.9% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% across Canada’s towns. On average, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 89%, and 2.4% 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
0.9% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns. Duchess has fewer bilingual residents than 97% of Canadian towns, at 2.4%.
Only 14% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Duchess
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Duchess, 14%, and 39% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 18%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
58% of adults were employed in May 2021
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%, much like this 58%.
Duchess sits below 1 of its 2 closest neighbours on median age
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duchess | 1,045 | — | 36.4 | 11% | 7.6% |
| Newell County | 7,846 | 17.4 km | 39.2 | 16% | 11% |
| Brooks | 17,537 | 18.0 km | 36 | 11% | 37% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Alberta’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.
Questions about Duchess’s residents
What religion are people in Duchess?
Most often Christian (59%) or no religion (40%); other religions make up 1.4%.
Is Duchess good for families?
Children under 15 are 24% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 64% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Duchess are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Duchess?
Median total household income in Duchess was $95,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Duchess?
The latest figure is an estimate: 1,045 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Duchess counted 1,053, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Duchess?
Half the residents are older than 36.4 and half younger; 24% are children under 15 and 11% are 65 or over.
Is Duchess bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 2.4% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 97% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Duchess?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 7.6%. A visible minority makes up 1.9% and Indigenous residents 9.5%.
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).