Photo: Verne Equinox · CC BY-SA 3.0Dorchester sits below 97% of Canadian towns for children under 15 (8.3%)
Indigenous residents are more common here than in 83% of Canadian towns. Statistics Canada puts Dorchester’s population at 1,130 for July 2025. Locally, 85% of households live in a single-detached house. One-parent families: 12% here and 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
What stands out about the people of Dorchester
Fewer people than before
Dorchester went from 1,096 people in 2016 to 906 in 2021, −17%: slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower than most: −17% since 2016, behind 99% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated 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 New Brunswick’s towns +3%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 25% higher again.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 6.1%, a lower share than 99% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The share of residents aged 65 and over trails 69% of Canadian towns: 16%. Against that, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. Half of Dorchester’s residents are over 44.4, older than in 64% of Canadian towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
24% women, 76% men
About 32 women for every 100 men.
A larger share of one-person households than 73% of Canadian towns: 33%
Private households by type and size.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Against that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of married residents 15 and over than 97% of Canadian towns: 24%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 50% of adults, against a typical 27%. Against that, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Census figures put common-law partners at 7.2% in Dorchester.
Below 69% of Canadian towns: 17% of households rent their home
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
27% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Renter households make up 25% across Canada’s towns.
$57,200 a year: the median household income
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Dorchester’s, at $57,200, is 33% lower. The provincial yardstick is $73,300, the median across New Brunswick’s towns. Pandemic benefits reached 27% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 13%, a higher share than 67% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Here 4.7% of residents are immigrants, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 17%. As a yardstick, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Residents without Canadian citizenship account for 2.4%.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 63% of Canadian towns: 31%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. Against that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
More residents whose mother tongue is French than 75% of Canadian towns: 8.8%
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
By its share of bilingual residents (21%), Dorchester is above 75% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, residents whose mother tongue is French come to 1.5%. At home: English 95%, French 2.2%.
Only 9.1% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Dorchester
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 14% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
56% of residents 15 and over were in work
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment here, 56%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
The towns around Dorchester are all older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester | 1,130 | — | 44.4 | 16% | 4.7% |
| Memramcook | 5,616 | 9.4 km | 45.6 | 21% | 3.6% |
| Sackville | 1,286 | 9.8 km | 46.4 | 22% | 5% |
| Sackville | 6,572 | 10.9 km | 46 | 25% | 7.4% |
| Hillsborough | 1,414 | 11.8 km | 47.2 | 26% | 2.3% |
| Hillsborough | 1,569 | 13.8 km | 48.8 | 21% | 2.5% |
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. Two medians frame each figure: one for New Brunswick’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- 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.
Questions about Dorchester’s residents
How diverse is Dorchester?
4.7% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 0% belong to a visible minority and 8.3% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Dorchester?
67% are Christian and 31% have no religion; 2.3% follow another religion.
Is Dorchester good for families?
Under 15: 8.3% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 45% of households. One-parent families: 12%. Schools near Dorchester are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Dorchester?
The median household in Dorchester took in $57,200 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Dorchester?
Dorchester had about 1,130 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 906, 17% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Dorchester?
A median age of 44.4. Children under 15 make up 8.3%, and people 65 and over 16%.
Is Dorchester bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 21% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 79% speak only English and 0% only French; 8.8% 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).