Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Owners put the median home in Dorchester at $670,000
The census of 2021 asked 4,305 owner households what their home was worth. Sale prices aren’t published in Ontario: what owners told the census is the figure to go on for Dorchester. For 2024, the median assessed value of a residential property is $326,000. Ontario still assesses at 2016 values (MPAC’s 1 January 2016 base): a figure to set against other Ontario towns, not against prices.
Two ways to price a home in Dorchester
Each source sits beside its own median for Ontario’s towns; none compares across provinces, which value homes in their own ways. Keep in mind these are owners’ estimates from the 2021 census, not recorded sales.
median, owners’ estimate
- Average
- $707K
- Owners
- 4,305
- Ontario’s towns
- $695K
- The typical Canadian town
- $406K
all residential, MPAC 2016 base
- Ontario’s towns
- $232K
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada); Canadian Housing Statistics Program, tables 46-10-0099 and 46-10-0093; Québec rôle d’évaluation foncière 2026 (MAMH).
Dorchester’s detached houses are assessed 34% above the median of Ontario’s towns
Assessors listed 5,110 residential properties in Dorchester for 2024, 95% of them detached houses.
Median assessment by type, 2024 the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Canadian Housing Statistics Program, table 46-10-0093 (2024): residential properties on the assessment roll, vacant land left out. The ticks are the median of Ontario’s towns with their own figure; assessments compare within a province only.
Single-detached houses are 89% of Dorchester’s homes, against 60% for Ontario’s towns
People lived in 5,185 homes in Dorchester at the 2021 census. Half went up before 1981.
Homes by period of construction the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Homes by kind
| Dorchester | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominiums | 3% | 7% | 8% |
| Needing major repairs | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Too small for the household | 2% | 5% | 3% |
| Households in core housing need | 4% | 9% | 7% |
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada): occupied private dwellings; core housing need as Statistics Canada defines it. Ticks and columns are medians of the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more.
Dorchester permitted 17.1 new homes a year per 1,000, close to the 15 of Ontario’s towns
From 2018 to 2023, permits in Dorchester created 503 homes, about 84 a year. Houses dominate the permits, at 96% in single-unit buildings (Ontario’s towns: 66%).
The busiest year: 2021, with 123 new homes
New homes a year per 1,000 homes
Up 16%: 5,327 new homes in the year to August 2026
Statistics Canada, tables 46-10-0087 (building permits by census subdivision, 2018–2023: dwelling units created, new construction and conversions) and 34-10-0292 (monthly, metro areas). Per 1,000: units a year over 2019–2023 against occupied homes in 2021. · Area behind the monthly permits figures: the London metro area
Dorchester against Ontario’s towns: about level with the $695,000 median
871 of Ontario’s towns (2,500 people or more), by median value at the 2021 census, dearest first.
Census 2021, owners’ estimates; towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, no city as a whole, no reserve.
Lower values near Dorchester: Argyle, Hamilton Road and Huron Heights
Next to Dorchester: 2021 census values and the share of owners.
| Town | Median home value | Average | Owners | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester | $670K | $707K | 88% | |
| Argyle | $412K | $436K | 65% | 8.5 |
| Jackson | $650K | $642K | 87% | 10.8 |
| Hamilton Road | $400K | $414K | 72% | 11.1 |
| Huron Heights | $500K | $523K | 52% | 11.6 |
| East London | $400K | $405K | 44% | 12.2 |
| Glen Cairn | $400K | $434K | 59% | 12.9 |
Census 2021 values; km.
Questions about property prices in Dorchester
How many households in Dorchester are in core housing need?
Fewer than most: 4% of households in Dorchester, where Ontario’s towns sit at 9%.
Is Dorchester expensive for Ontario?
In the middle: Ontario’s towns come to $695,000, and so, near enough, does Dorchester.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · Statistics Canada, Canadian Housing Statistics Program · Statistics Canada, building permits (tables 46-10-0087 and 34-10-0292). 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).