Photo: Derek Hatfield from Peterborough, Canada · CC BY 2.0Owners in Thunder Bay value their homes 57% below the median of Ontario’s towns
The census median was $300,000 in 2021, against $695,000 for Ontario’s towns. Those values come from owners at the 2021 census and predate the prices of the years since. Statistics Canada’s housing statistics carry no sale prices in Ontario; the census value stands in for Thunder Bay.
What Thunder Bay’s homes are worth, two ways
Every figure here is compared within the province, against Ontario’s towns, since each province assesses on its own terms. MPAC hasn’t reassessed since its 1 January 2016 values, which is why the figure sits well under the census value; it compares only within Ontario.
median, owners’ estimate
- Average
- $317K
- Owners
- 32,760
- 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).
Thunder Bay’s detached houses are assessed 14% below the median of Ontario’s towns
Assessors listed 39,385 residential properties in Thunder Bay for 2024, 85% of them detached houses and 4% condos.
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.
Before 1961: 39% of the homes in Thunder Bay, where Ontario’s towns have 22%
48,405 occupied homes stood in Thunder Bay in 2021, and single-detached houses made up 66% of them.
Homes by period of construction the tick is the median of Ontario’s towns
Homes by kind
| Thunder Bay | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominiums | 4% | 7% | 8% |
| Needing major repairs | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Too small for the household | 3% | 5% | 3% |
| Households in core housing need | 9% | 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.
Building behind Ontario’s towns: 4.7 new homes a year per 1,000 in Thunder Bay, against 15
From 2018 to 2023, permits in Thunder Bay created 1,303 homes, about 217 a year. The mix: 28% in single-unit buildings, beside 66% for Ontario’s towns. For monthly permits, the only official count covers all of the Thunder Bay metro area, Thunder Bay included.
The busiest year: 2023, with 303 new homes
New homes a year per 1,000 homes
614 new homes in the 12 months to August 2026, up 27% on the year before
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.
Thunder Bay is 57% below the $695,000 median of Ontario’s towns
The census values of Ontario’s towns, 871 of them with 2,500+ people, from dearest to cheapest.
Census 2021, owners’ estimates; towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, no city as a whole, no reserve.
Cheaper next to Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay, Unorganized
Next to Thunder Bay: 2021 census values and the share of owners. No closer places have figures: these lie 16–25 km from Thunder Bay.
| Town | Median home value | Average | Owners | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay | $300K | $317K | 68% | |
| Oliver Paipoonge | $388K | $404K | 93% | 16.2 |
| Shuniah | $420K | $531K | 95% | 21 |
| Thunder Bay, Unorganized | $280K | $313K | 91% | 24.6 |
Census 2021 values; km.
Questions about property prices in Thunder Bay
Is Thunder Bay expensive for Ontario?
Cheaper than the middle: Ontario’s towns come to $695,000, Thunder Bay to less.
How many households in Thunder Bay are in core housing need?
In line with Ontario’s towns (9%): 9% in Thunder Bay, counting the households whose home falls short on cost, size or repair.
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).