Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0In Blind River, 19% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (8.9%), Blind River is below just over four fifths of Canadian towns. Here, a third of households are one person living alone. Compared with other places, immigrants are scarce here: 4.1%, fewer than in 85% of Canadian towns. About 3,692 people lived in the town in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates.
What stands out about the people of Blind River
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 19% of residents, more than in 96% of Canadian towns, and 8.1% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Blind River’s residents are under 52.8 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Blind River changed by −1% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 86% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. 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 8% higher again. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across Ontario’s towns.
A median age of 52.8: Blind River is older than 91% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
27% of residents are 65 or over; across Canada’s towns the figure is 19%. On children under 15, Blind River sits lower than 70% of Canadian towns: 14%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Blind River, 52.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Smaller households than 83% of Canadian towns: 2.1 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Against a figure of 8.2% across Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families in Blind River comes in at 10%.
Blind River: 12% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 64% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 23% of adults, against a typical 27%. On the census count, 47% of residents 15 and over are married. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Households in single-detached houses make up 78% in Blind River, more than in 70% 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Locally, 29% of households rent their home. 12% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
The midpoint household income is $66,500 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $66,500, the middle household in Blind River earned 23% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $91,600 is the median household income across Ontario’s towns. Pandemic benefits reached 21% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
In Blind River, 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 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (61%), then in the Americas (36%). Lower than in 89% of Canadian towns: 1% of residents are not Canadian citizens. Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Above 61% of Canadian towns: 39% of residents said they have no religion
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 15% across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents in Blind River comes in at 1.3%. On average, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Bilingual residents make up 30% in Blind River, more than in 81% of Canadian towns
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
Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 14%, against 1.5% across Canada’s towns. The comparison figure for bilingual residents is 7.5% across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 74% of Canadian towns: 18%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 10% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
45% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 45% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 27% of residents are 65 or over.
The 3rd oldest of 41 towns of 3,639 to 3,741 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
They run from West Kildonan Industrial, at 31.5, to Piedmont, at 58. Closest in median age to Blind River are Parkland (50.6), Cowichan Bay (51.6), Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez (57.6) and Piedmont (58).
The towns around Blind River are all older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Distances here run 31–47 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Blind River.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind River | 3,692 | — | 52.8 | 27% | 4.1% |
| Elliot Lake | 12,317 | 30.6 km | 60.4 | 40% | 11% |
| Huron Shores | 2,030 | 32.3 km | 56.4 | 30% | 5.7% |
| Thessalon | 1,363 | 47.4 km | 58.8 | 36% | 3% |
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 Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Ontario’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. 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 Blind River’s residents
What is the population of Blind River?
Blind River had about 3,692 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,422, 1% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Blind River?
A median age of 52.8, older than 91% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 27%.
Is Blind River bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 30% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 70% speak only English and 0.4% only French; 14% grew up with French.
How diverse is Blind River?
4.1% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.3% belong to a visible minority and 19% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Blind River?
60% are Christian and 39% have no religion; 1.2% follow another religion.
Is Blind River good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 50% of households. One-parent families: 10%. Schools near Blind River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Blind River?
The median household in Blind River took in $66,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).