Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0Thessalon is older than 99% of Canadian towns: a median age of 58.8
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, against 7.9% in Thessalon. Here, just over four in five households live in a single-detached house. More one-person households than in 82% of Canadian towns: 37%. This Ontario town had about 1,363 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 555 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Thessalon
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 12% of residents, more than in 90% of Canadian towns, and 3.4% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Thessalon’s residents are under 58.8 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Thessalon went from 1,286 people in 2016 to 1,260 in 2021, −2%: slower growth than in 88% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Thessalon changed by −2% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 88% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Ontario’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 8%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 98% of Canadian towns: 36%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The share of children under 15 trails 85% of Canadian towns: 12%. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 83% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
6.3% of households are one-parent families, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of common-law partners than 65% of Canadian towns: 9%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, 46% of residents 15 and over are married; in Thessalon, 48%. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Renter households make up 29% in Thessalon, more than in 56% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
Just over one in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Half above, half below $58,400 a year in household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Thessalon’s median household took in $58,400 before tax, 32% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Ontario’s towns have a median of $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 15% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Thessalon ranks above 77% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 15%
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
The figure for residents without Canadian citizenship is 2.1% in Thessalon and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Lower than in 90% of Canadian towns: 3% of residents are immigrants. Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
In Thessalon, 12% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
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 Thessalon comes in at 2.1%. On average, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. For Thessalon, the census puts residents with no religion at 34%.
More residents whose mother tongue is French than 66% of Canadian towns: 2.6%
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
4.3% can speak both English and French, against 6.7% across Ontario’s towns and 7.5% across Canada’s towns. On average, 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns.
Only 12% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Thessalon
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 18%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 36% of adults
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 36% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 36% of residents are 65 or over.
No nearby town is as old as Thessalon
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Thessalon has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 16–47 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thessalon | 1,363 | — | 58.8 | 36% | 3% |
| Huron Shores | 2,030 | 15.7 km | 56.4 | 30% | 5.7% |
| St. Joseph | 1,560 | 38.9 km | 57.2 | 34% | 8.8% |
| Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional | 1,771 | 43.9 km | 45.6 | 20% | 3.3% |
| Laird | 1,221 | 44.1 km | 50.4 | 23% | 1.8% |
| Blind River | 3,692 | 47.4 km | 52.8 | 27% | 4.1% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Ontario’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Thessalon’s residents
What is the average age in Thessalon?
A median age of 58.8. Children under 15 make up 12%, and people 65 and over 36%.
Is Thessalon bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 2.6% grew up with French.
How diverse is Thessalon?
3% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.1% belong to a visible minority and 12% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Thessalon?
64% are Christian and 34% have no religion; 2.1% follow another religion.
Is Thessalon good for families?
Under 15: 12% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 51% of households. One-parent families: 6.3%. Schools near Thessalon are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Thessalon?
The median household in Thessalon took in $58,400 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Thessalon?
Thessalon had about 1,363 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,260, 2% fewer than 2016.
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).