KelseyManitoba
2,142 residents make their home in this town in Manitoba. The population fell 10% between 2016 and 2021.
Is Kelsey a good place to live?
Kelsey’s strongest subject is cost of living (A). The weak point is health (D−). It lags on safety as well (D). Hazards are a real consideration (D−).
An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Canadian towns; Kelsey has its subject grades alone.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety less sure: no police service names this town, so its crime figure is the nearest police detachment's, shared with a wider area. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread. Wildfire lowers this town's Hazard risk Grade: a high share of the land around it has burned in the last 40 years.
How Kelsey grades
Each subject compares Kelsey with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Canadian towns; Kelsey has its subject grades alone.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Kelsey stand out
The 3 things Kelsey does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kelsey.
For health, Kelsey gets a D−
Across the region, life runs to 68.5 years on average: women 70.5, men 66.9, in 2022/2024. By their own account, 40% of adults here are in very good or excellent health, below Manitoba’s towns (52%) and Canadian towns (52%) alike. Measured from where Kelsey’s residents live, a hospital is 21 km away on average and two fifths of them are over 30 km out. Smoking is commoner than in the province: 15% of adults, against 12% for Manitoba.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very good or excellent health | 40% | 52% | 52% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 22% | 18% | 17% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 68.5 | 80.0 | 81.5 |
| Smokers | 15% | 10% | 12% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Health survey and life expectancy: one figure for all of the Northern Health Region
For hazard risk, Kelsey gets a D−
Source area for radon tests: the Norman health region
Of the homes tested for radon, 12% were over 200 Bq/m³, close to Manitoba’s towns (12%) and above Canadian towns (6.6%). With 0.34% of the land around it burning each year, Kelsey sits in the high wildfire band (13% within 25 km since 1986). Flood mapping exists: a study by Hydrologic Forecasting and Water Management Branch of Manitoba Transporation and Infrastructure . Seismic risk runs low: $0.005 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 12% | 12% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.005 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Renting in Kelsey costs 8% of household income, less than in Manitoba’s towns and across Canadian towns
Owners make up just over four in five households. 6% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, lower than both Manitoba’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 8% | 20% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 6% | 15% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 82% | 75% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Trips to work from Kelsey are shorter than from Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 21 min on average
85% of commuters drove, near Manitoba’s towns (87%) and lower than Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 21 min | 24 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 85% | 87% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
For the force that serves Kelsey, the Crime Severity Index is 143, above Manitoba’s towns and Canadian towns
A best guess: the nearest detachment’s figures, since none is filed under Kelsey
Violent incidents in its police area came to 27.8 per 1,000 residents a year, above Manitoba’s towns (18) and Canadian towns (12) alike. For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 55.1 property crimes are reported each year. For Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000, the only official count covers all of the The Pas detachment area, Kelsey included.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 27.8 | 18 | 12 |
| Crime Severity Index | 143 | 129 | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 188 | 198 | 86 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 55.1 | 58.8 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Kelsey and its edges hold 2 schools: 2 secondary schools
From the town centre, high school starts 40 km away, above both Manitoba’s towns (1.1 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km). Elementary school is 63 km away at the nearest, higher than both Manitoba’s towns (0.5 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Duncan SchoolNearest secondary school, 0.6 kmSecondary | Secondary | – | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 40 km | 1.1 km | 1.2 km |
| Nearest elementary school | 63 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
Statistics Canada’s Open Database of Educational Facilities · Towns in Manitoba aren’t in the schools rankings: the province publishes no results school by school.
Winter nights bite in Kelsey: January lows of −23.4°C, colder than Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns
Frost usually lifts by 24 May and returns around 22 September: 120 days without it. There are 205 days of frost in a typical year, above both Manitoba’s towns (193) and Canadian towns (159). Most of the snow comes in December, about 30 cm. A normal June brings 80 mm of precipitation, more than any other month.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −23.4°C | −21.2°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 23.9°C | 25.8°C | 25.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 469 mm | 519 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 205 | 193 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (The Pas)
What November brings in Kelsey: −11°C at night, −4°C by day
Into December, the normals move to −11°C and −20°C. In November, the normal is 23 mm of rain and snow. Snow is normal by November, about 25 cm over the month. Over the year, July is warmest at 24°C by day and January coldest at −23°C by night.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −12°C | −22°C | 51 mm |
| Spring | 6°C | −6°C | 77 mm |
| Summer | 22°C | 11°C | 221 mm |
| Autumn | 7°C | −2°C | 119 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (The Pas); the forecast is on the Weather page
Kelsey sends Rebecca Chartrand (Liberal Party of Canada) to the Commons from Churchill—Keewatinook Aski
7 of the 14 MPs from Manitoba belong to the Conservative Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Kelsey’s public library is The Pas Regional Library
It sits 43 km from the centre of Kelsey.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
The nearest provincial park, Palsa Hazel Ecological Reserve / Grass River Provincial Park, is 4.2 km from Kelsey
2.7 km out lies the largest, Lobstick Lake, at 98,675 ha. Within 10 km of the town, 4% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town. No national park lies within 100 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 4% | 1.1% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 5 | 12 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
More of Kelsey’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 41%
Children under 15 count for 19% of the people here. 0.9% of residents came to Canada as immigrants, lower than both Manitoba’s towns (7.7%) and Canadian towns (6.4%). The 65-and-over age group makes up nearly a fifth of residents.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 48.2% of Kelsey
Here the census found 1,050 women and 1,130 men; across Canada the share of women is 50.9%.
| Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 63% | 64% | 64% |
| 65+ | 19% | 17% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 18% | 16% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 51% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Manitoba and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
1 historic place on the heritage registers in Kelsey
Historic places by designation · inside the town
| Heritage | Kelsey | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 12% | 23% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Kelsey
About Kelsey
Town in Manitoba
For Kelsey, TownRatings uses Statistics Canada’s census-subdivision boundary in Manitoba, and every figure on its pages covers that whole area.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 2,142 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Manitoba
- Census division
- Division No. 21
- Census subdivision
- 4621052
Questions about Kelsey
Who are the people of Kelsey?
Visible minorities are 0% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 1%, and Indigenous people 41%.
Has Kelsey grown?
It lost people: 2,419 in 2016, 2,181 in 2021, 9.8% fewer, while the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 2,142.
What kind of homes are in Kelsey?
88% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2.5 people; 23% are one person living alone.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).