Photo: Ansgar Walk · CC BY-SA 2.5Cape Dorset is younger than 99% of Canadian towns: a median age of 23.2
Here 15% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 11%. The census found that 18% of households are one-parent families in Cape Dorset. Lower than in 72% of Canadian towns: 47% of households live in a single-detached house. This Nunavut town had about 1,600 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 365 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Cape Dorset
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
96% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 0% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 84% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Cape Dorset’s median age is 23.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 38% are under 15 and 3.9% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town of renters
Renters are 89% of households, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 1.4% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 31% of adults, more than in 95% of Canadian towns, while 13% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−3% since 2016, a pace below 92% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 15% higher again. Across Canada’s towns the median change was +4%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 3.9%, a lower share than 99% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Compared with 16% across Canada’s towns, 38% of residents are under 15 here. Measured more widely, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women.
Larger households than 99% of Canadian towns: 3.9 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-person households is 25%, against 27% across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of common-law partners than 95% of Canadian towns: 31%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Married residents 15 and over make up 13%, against 46% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners is 11%.
Renter households: 89%, a higher share than 99% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
Newer homes outnumber old: 34% date from 2001 or later, 2.7% from before 1961. Renter households: 25% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. 38% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Household income at the median: $90,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Cape Dorset had $90,000 before tax, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). 62% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
In Cape Dorset, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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 residents without Canadian citizenship is 0.7% in Cape Dorset and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Lower than in 97% of Canadian towns: 1.1% of residents are immigrants. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%.
In Cape Dorset, 96% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 35% across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents said they have no religion in Cape Dorset. Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 94% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, Indigenous residents come to 2.8%.
6.9% have a mother tongue other than English or French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
0.4% of residents have French as their mother tongue; across Canada’s towns the figure is 1.5%. What’s more, on bilingual residents, Cape Dorset sits lower than 99% of Canadian towns: 1.4%. At home, 78% mostly speak another language; 10% speak neither English nor French.
Cape Dorset sits below 99% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (5.7%)
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
52% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
41% of adults were employed in May 2021
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 41%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 3.9% are 65 or over.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 Canada’s towns. Nunavut has too few towns of 2,500 or more for a median of its own, so each figure is set beside the median of all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out).
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
Questions about Cape Dorset’s residents
Is Cape Dorset good for families?
Children under 15 are 38% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 31% of households and one-parent families 18%. Schools near Cape Dorset are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cape Dorset?
Median total household income in Cape Dorset was $90,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Cape Dorset?
The latest figure is an estimate: 1,600 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Cape Dorset counted 1,396, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Cape Dorset?
Half the residents are older than 23.2 and half younger; 38% are children under 15 and 3.9% are 65 or over.
Is Cape Dorset bilingual?
English and French: 1.4% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 89%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 0.4%.
How diverse is Cape Dorset?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 1.1%. A visible minority makes up 1.1% and Indigenous residents 96%.
What religion are people in Cape Dorset?
Most often Christian (73%) or no religion (27%); other religions make up 0.7%.
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).