Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Half of Dalhousie is over 58, older than 98% of Canadian towns
Compared with 2.8% across Canada’s towns, 9.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity here. Some 3,255 people live in Dalhousie, by the estimate for July 2025. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 6.8%. Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 94% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Dalhousie
A bilingual town
60% of residents can hold a conversation in both English and French, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 4.7% speak French only and 35% English only. English & French ↓
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Dalhousie is 58; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 37% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A higher share of bilingual residents than 95% of Canadian towns, at 60%
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 1.5%; Dalhousie has 44%. Elsewhere, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Dalhousie changed by +3% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 56% of Canadian towns
How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, Statistics Canada’s estimate had barely moved. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across New Brunswick’s towns, by more than +3%.
Dalhousie ranks above 98% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 37%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with 10% of residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Children under 15 account for 11%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Dalhousie, 58. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Smaller households than 90% of Canadian towns: 2 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
37% of households are one person living alone (Canada’s towns: 27%). The census found that nearly one in ten households are one-parent families in Dalhousie.
Below 67% of Canadian towns: 41% of residents 15 and over are married
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Common-law partners make up 12%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Against that, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Households in single-detached houses: 73%, a higher share than 63% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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 74% of Canadian towns. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 47% predate 1961, 2% date from 2001 or later. 28% of households rent their home; across Canada’s towns the figure is 25%.
$54,400 a year is the median household income here
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
At $54,400, the middle household in Dalhousie earned 37% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across New Brunswick’s towns, half of households had more than $73,300 before tax. The pandemic’s benefits: 23% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year: 9.1%, a lower share than 71% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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 share of immigrants trails 92% of Canadian towns: 2.3%. For comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 89% of Canadian towns: 19%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (2.3%), Dalhousie is below 82% of Canadian towns. For residents with no religion, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 35%.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 13% in Dalhousie, less than in 89% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 9.4% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 35% of adults
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 35%; 37% of residents are 65 or over.
3rd highest median age among 41 towns of 3,198 to 3,307
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The group spans Coalhurst, youngest at 32, to Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, oldest at 61.2. By median age, Dalhousie sits among Bonavista (54.8), Central Okanagan West (54.8), Greater Madawaska (58.8) and Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast (61.2).
Every nearby town is younger than Dalhousie
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalhousie | 3,255 | — | 58 | 37% | 2.3% |
| Eel River Crossing | 1,918 | 7.7 km | 52 | 24% | 1.1% |
| Charlo | 1,386 | 8.2 km | 56 | 31% | 0.7% |
| Nouvelle | 1,819 | 9.7 km | 50.4 | 25% | 2.3% |
| Dalhousie | 1,132 | 10.2 km | 54.8 | 25% | 0.9% |
| Balmoral | 1,628 | 11.2 km | 49.6 | 25% | 1.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of New Brunswick’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Dalhousie’s residents
Is Dalhousie bilingual?
60% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 4.7% speak French only and 35% English only. French is the mother tongue of 44%.
How diverse is Dalhousie?
2.3% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.3% belong to a visible minority and 9.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Dalhousie?
80% are Christian and 19% have no religion; 1.4% follow another religion.
Is Dalhousie good for families?
Under 15: 11% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 46% of households. One-parent families: 9.5%. Schools near Dalhousie are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Dalhousie?
The median household in Dalhousie took in $54,400 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Dalhousie?
Dalhousie had about 3,255 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,223, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Dalhousie?
A median age of 58, older than 98% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 11%, and people 65 and over 37%.
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).