Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Chelsea ranks below 95% of Canadian towns on renter households: 7.7%
With one-person households at 19%, Chelsea is behind 79% of Canadian towns on that count. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 8,998 for July 2025. For Chelsea, the census puts residents with no religion at 49%. Lower than in 70% of Canadian towns: 15% of residents are 65 or over.
What stands out about the people of Chelsea
A bilingual town
71% of residents can hold a conversation in both English and French, more than in 98% of Canadian towns; 8.3% speak French only and 21% English only. English & French ↓
Growing faster than most
Chelsea went from 6,909 people in 2016 to 8,000 in 2021, +16%: faster growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Many graduates
A bachelor’s degree or higher is held by 62% of 25- to 64-year-olds, more than in 95% of Canadian towns, and a master’s by 20%. Qualifications ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bilingual residents: 71%, a higher share than 98% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. 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
The share of residents whose mother tongue is English is 43%, against 66% across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
A +16% change since 2016: Chelsea grew faster than 93% of Canadian towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Quebec’s towns, by more than +4%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 12% higher again.
20% of residents are under 15, a share 83% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Half of Chelsea’s residents are over 43.6, older than in nearly three fifths of Canadian towns. In Chelsea, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Chelsea, 43.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Chelsea households average 2.6 people, larger than in 67% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
In Chelsea, 6.3% of households are one-parent families, beside 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of common-law partners than 85% of Canadian towns: 21%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over a fifth of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Typically, just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Above 92% of Canadian towns: 92% of households live in a single-detached house
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
31% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 15% built before 1961. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. At 0.2%, the share of households in buildings of five or more storeys is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $146,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Chelsea’s, at $146,000, is 70% higher. Across Quebec’s towns the median is $74,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 21% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 70% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (58%) and in the Americas (19%). Chelsea has fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than 78% of Canadian towns, at 1.8%. Typically, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Recent arrivals are 20% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns.
49% said they have no religion, more than say they are Christian
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (5.6%), Chelsea is below 67% of Canadian towns. Census figures put Indigenous residents at 2.6% locally.
62% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
2.9% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
In work on census day: 65% of adults
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.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 65%.
In its size band (8,794 to 9,193), the 18th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest is Hampton Village (32.3) and the oldest Pictou County, Subdivision C (52). Nearest to Chelsea in age: Camrose County (43.6), Uplands (43.6), Sundance (43.9) and Old East York (44).
Median age: 1 of the 6 towns around Chelsea are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 8,998 | — | 43.6 | 15% | 9.3% |
| Cantley | 12,291 | 5.2 km | 40 | 11% | 5.4% |
| Hautes-Plaines | 6,353 | 8.5 km | 42.4 | 15% | 13% |
| Les Rapides | 15,090 | 8.7 km | 43.4 | 17% | 14% |
| Mont-Bleu | 21,636 | 10.6 km | 39.9 | 19% | 25% |
| Du Plateau | 29,234 | 11.6 km | 33.3 | 6.6% | 27% |
| La Cité | 30,930 | 11.9 km | 44.6 | 21% | 15% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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 Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
Questions about Chelsea’s residents
How diverse is Chelsea?
Immigrants make up 9.3% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 5.6% are members of a visible minority, and 2.6% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Chelsea?
Christian: 48%. No religion: 49%. Another religion: 3.2%.
Is Chelsea good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 20%. 70% of households are couple families and 6.3% one-parent families. Schools near Chelsea are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Chelsea?
$146,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Chelsea (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Chelsea?
Statistics Canada estimates 8,998 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 8,000 in Chelsea, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Chelsea?
43.6 is the median age, older than 59% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 20%. 65 and over: 15%.
Is Chelsea bilingual?
English and French: 71% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 21%. French only: 8.3%. French mother tongue: 46%.
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).