Photo: maclean · Public domainIn Dawson Creek, 15% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
59% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, renter households are common here: 42%, more than in 77% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 13,635 residents; the 2021 Census found 5,405 households. Locally, just over one in ten households are one-parent families.
What stands out about the people of Dawson Creek
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 15% of residents, more than in 94% of Canadian towns, and 4.9% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Line Dawson Creek’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 35.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 19% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A change of +1% since 2016 leaves Dawson Creek behind 70% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 11% higher again. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
Younger than 88% of Canadian towns: half of Dawson Creek is under 35.6
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
No age band is larger than 30–34: 8.7% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. The census found that 19% of residents are under 15 in Dawson Creek. Residents aged 65 and over are rarer here than in 78% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Dawson Creek, 35.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Above 80% of Canadian towns: 36% of households are one person living alone
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
A household here has 2.2 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. To put it in context, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of married residents 15 and over than 72% of Canadian towns: 38%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
33% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). On common-law partners, Dawson Creek sits higher than 69% of Canadian towns: 13%. The usual figure: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Households in single-detached houses make up 61% in Dawson Creek, less than in 54% of Canadian towns
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
Nearly a quarter of homes were built before 1961 and 23% in 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, households in single-detached houses come to 64%.
Before tax, the median household income is $81,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Dawson Creek’s, at $81,000, is 6% lower. $87,000 is the median household income across British Columbia’s towns. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 29% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 17% in Dawson Creek, more than in 88% of Canadian towns
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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The figure for immigrants is 10% in Dawson Creek and 17% across Canada’s towns. Still, 8.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens, more than in 64% of Canadian towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year across Canada’s towns is 11%.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 96% of Canadian towns: 59%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
14% of residents belong to a visible minority. As a yardstick, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 86%, and 4.8% 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 0.9%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. Dawson Creek has fewer bilingual residents than 77% of Canadian towns, at 4.8%. At home, 5.9% mostly speak another language; 0.2% speak neither English nor French.
Only 16% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Dawson Creek
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
An employment rate of 63%
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 63%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
In its size band (13,331 to 13,950), the 8th youngest of 41 towns
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The span goes from 29.7 (Sandy Hill) up to 62 (Sidney). The closest ages to Dawson Creek’s belong to Avondale (35.3), Lorette (35.6), E-F-K-Section (bramalea) (35.7) and Stittsville North (36.3).
Nearby, 3 of 5 towns have older populations than Dawson Creek
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 8–69 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Dawson Creek.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson Creek | 13,635 | — | 35.6 | 14% | 10% |
| Electoral Area D, Peace River | 5,100 | 8.0 km | 44 | 18% | 6.4% |
| Saddle Hills County | 2,449 | 50.5 km | 40 | 18% | 3.1% |
| Taylor | 1,415 | 52.6 km | 35.6 | 11% | 3.4% |
| Fort St. John | 24,383 | 65.8 km | 32.4 | 8.3% | 12% |
| Electoral Area C, Peace River | 6,344 | 69.3 km | 40.4 | 13% | 5.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Dawson Creek’s residents
How diverse is Dawson Creek?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 10%. A visible minority makes up 14% and Indigenous residents 15%.
What religion are people in Dawson Creek?
Most often Christian (36%) or no religion (59%); other religions make up 4.3%.
Is Dawson Creek good for families?
Children under 15 are 19% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 42% of households and one-parent families 11%. Schools near Dawson Creek are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Dawson Creek?
Median total household income in Dawson Creek was $81,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Dawson Creek?
The latest figure is an estimate: 13,635 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Dawson Creek counted 12,323, 1% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Dawson Creek?
Half the residents are older than 35.6 and half younger, younger than 88% of Canadian towns; 19% are children under 15 and 14% are 65 or over.
Is Dawson Creek bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.8% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
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).