BonfieldOntario
The town, home to 2,597 people, lies in Ontario. It is part of the North Bay metro area.
Is Bonfield a good place to live?
Crime is low (A+). Its lowest grade is for health (D). A median home here was worth $340,000 at the census, or 4.4 times what the middle household earns in a year. Incomes are on the low side (D).
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Bonfield has no overall grade in this run.
Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Bonfield grades
Each subject compares Bonfield with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Bonfield has no overall grade in this run.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Bonfield stand out
The 3 things Bonfield does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bonfield.
Violent crime weighs less on Bonfield than on Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 39
Violent crime runs at 6.5 per 1,000 residents a year. Property crime ran at 7 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, below Ontario’s towns (30.5) and Canadian towns (31.2) alike.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 7 | 30.5 | 31.2 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 39 | 76 | 86 |
| Violent crime | 6.5 | 10.5 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Health in Bonfield trails 90% of Canadian towns
Measured across the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit: health survey and life expectancy
Expected years of life at birth: 80.0, below both Ontario’s towns (82.8) and Canadian towns (81.5). The region has more smokers than Ontario, 18% of adults to 11%. Still, the survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 47%, behind the 51% for Ontario. What sets Bonfield apart within its region is a longer trip to hospital, 23 km for the average resident (3.7 km typical).
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 18% | 10% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 80.0 | 82.8 | 81.5 |
| Very good or excellent health | 47% | 51% | 52% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Trips to work from Bonfield take longer than from Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 31 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 31 min | 29 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
Most households in Bonfield own their home: 89%, more than in Ontario’s towns and across Canadian towns
Rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom for the North Bay metro area
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 13% of households, below both Ontario’s towns (22%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 13% | 22% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 89% | 76% | 74% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $340,000 | $695,000 | $406,000 |
| Rent as a share of income | 22% | 22% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020.
Hazards in Bonfield are mild: low wildfire and earthquake risk, and 1.9% of area homes above the radon guideline
NRCan expects $0.059 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Bonfield, near the typical $0.030. Flood mapping: none on the national inventory of the town.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 1.9% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.059 | $0.043 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Bonfield has colder winters than Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: January lows of −17.3°C
The most precipitation falls in September: 114 mm in a normal year. Frosty days number 176 in a normal year, above Ontario’s towns (139) and Canadian towns (159) alike. Gardeners get 135 frost-free days, from 15 May to 29 September. Also worth knowing: the warmest afternoons come in July, at around 24.3°C in Bonfield.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowfall a year | 312 cm | 146 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −17.3°C | −9.1°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 24.3°C | 26.7°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 176 | 139 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (North Bay)
Bonfield in November: highs near 3°C, lows near −4°C
July brings the warmest days, 24°C; January the coldest nights, −17°C. November normally sees 97 mm of precipitation. About 38 cm of snow falls in a normal November. ECCC’s forecast for North Bay is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −6°C | −15°C | 197 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −2°C | 221 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 13°C | 282 mm |
| Autumn | 11°C | 2°C | 320 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (North Bay); the forecast is on the Weather page
Per resident, Bonfield spends less than 93% of Ontario’s single-tier municipalities
Narry Paquette was elected mayor of Bonfield in October 2022, on a council of 5 seats.
| Turnout | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal election, 2022 | 41% | 31% | 31% |
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library stands in Bonfield: the closest, East Ferris Public Library, is 13 km away
Bonfield public library serves 2,146 people.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
More of Bonfield’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 17%
2.1% of residents belong to a visible minority, below both Ontario’s towns (26%) and Canadian towns (15%). Retirement age and beyond: 20% of residents are 65 or older.
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 47.9% of Bonfield
1,120 men and 1,030 women lived here in 2021, against a share of women of 50.9% for Canada.
| Bonfield | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 65% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 23% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 47% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
No high school in or near Bonfield: the closest is 23 km off
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| École séparée Lorrain FrenchIn BonfieldElementary · Grades JK–8 | Elementary · Grades JK–8 | – | French Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 23 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25
Protected land around Bonfield beats 9 in 10 Canadian towns
OpenStreetMap shows 2 unnamed beaches within 5 km. No national park lies within 100 km. Some protected land is inside the town: nearly a quarter of its area.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Bonfield | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 15% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Bonfield
Famous people from around Bonfield
2 notable people were born in Bonfield; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Photo credits
Taylor Milne: Citizen59, CC BY 3.0
About Bonfield
Town in Ontario
TownRatings counts Bonfield as Statistics Canada does, as one municipality in Ontario; the census, crime and housing figures all follow that boundary.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 2,597 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Ontario
- Census division
- Nipissing
- Metro area
- North Bay
- Census subdivision
- 3548027
Bonfield’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonfield | 2,597 | — | — | C− | A+ | D |
| East Ferris | 5,835 | 10 | B− | B | A+ | C− |
| Chisholm | 1,593 | 17 | — | C− | B− | D |
| Callander | 4,021 | 17 | C | C+ | B− | C− |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Bonfield
Do people in Bonfield speak French?
34% of residents can hold a conversation in both English and French, against 8% for the median of Canadian towns; 0.2% speak French but not English.
What kind of homes are in Bonfield?
Single-detached houses make up 93% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 25% of households are one person, and the average is 2.4.
Has Bonfield grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it went from 1,990 to 2,146 residents (up 7.8%; Canadian towns’ median: 4.1%), and Statistics Canada now estimates 2,597.
How old are the people of Bonfield?
Its median age is 48, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2. Under-15s are 15% of residents; over-65s, 20%.
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).