Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.029% of residents are 65 or over, a share 89% of Canadian towns don’t reach
12% of households are one-parent families; across Canada’s towns the figure is 8.2%. At the 2021 Census, 3,551 people lived in Fessenden, in 1,300 households. Locally, 28% of households live in a single-detached house. With a median age of 46.7, Fessenden is older than three quarters of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Fessenden
Many older residents
29% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 89% of Canadian towns; 10% are 80 or over, and 26% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Only 14% of residents are under 15 in Fessenden
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The biggest five-year age group is 65–69, with 7.1% of residents. Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Fessenden, 46.7. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
2.6 people per household, more than in 63% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
On the census count, 26% of households are one person living alone.
Common-law partners: 7.3%, a lower share than 78% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
28% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. For comparison, just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Households in buildings of five or more storeys: 19%, a higher share than 86% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
The share of renter households tops just over two thirds of Canadian towns: 35%.
$87,800 a year: where the middle household sits
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Fessenden had $87,800 before tax, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. Pandemic benefits reached 28% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Above 82% of Canadian towns: 38% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 45%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Recent arrivals are 29% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Here, 11% of residents are not Canadian citizens. Lower than in 61% of Canadian towns: 9.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
A lower share of residents with no religion than 76% of Canadian towns, at 26%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (9.1%). Higher than in 71% of Canadian towns: 33% of residents belong to a visible minority. By way of comparison, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. At 2.2%, the share of Indigenous residents is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
69% have English as their mother tongue; 4.5% also speak French
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 4.5% of residents speak English and French here. 16% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 2.5% speak neither official language. On residents whose mother tongue is French, Fessenden sits lower than 89% of Canadian towns: 0.6%.
32% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 60% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 7.5% (typical 9.5%). Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 50% of residents 15 and over had a job
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 50%; 29% of residents are 65 or over.
In its size band (3,497 to 3,611), the 12th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Electoral Area D (Rural Grand Forks), Kootenay Boundary is the oldest at 57.6, Opportunity No. 17 the youngest at 31.2. By median age, Fessenden sits among Beausejour (46.4), Lawrencetown (46.5), Collectivité Nouvelle (47.9) and Glendale (48.2).
Fessenden is older than every town around it
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fessenden | 3,551 | — | 46.7 | 29% | 38% |
| Mountview | 7,752 | 0.8 km | 46.4 | 28% | 29% |
| Gurnett | 4,582 | 0.9 km | 40.9 | 19% | 36% |
| Gilbert | 3,181 | 0.9 km | 37.7 | 17% | 34% |
| Gilkson | 2,963 | 1.2 km | 42.3 | 21% | 31% |
| Westcliffe East | 2,832 | 1.3 km | 43.4 | 21% | 18% |
| Falkirk East | 4,961 | 1.9 km | 41.8 | 17% | 35% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. There is no census profile for a neighbourhood, so we add up the dissemination areas inside it. Each count is a sum of Statistics Canada’s rounded counts, the median age and income come from the published groups, and with 2016’s areas drawn differently there is no 2016 count.
Questions about Fessenden’s residents
How diverse is Fessenden?
38% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 33% belong to a visible minority and 2.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Fessenden?
61% are Christian and 26% have no religion; 14% follow another religion.
Is Fessenden good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 50% of households. One-parent families: 12%. Schools near Fessenden are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Fessenden?
The median household in Fessenden took in $87,800 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Fessenden?
3,551, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for Fessenden alone.
What is the average age in Fessenden?
A median age of 46.7, older than 75% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 29%.
Is Fessenden bilingual?
English and French: 4.5% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 93%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 0.6%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).