Photo: simpleinsomnia · CC BY 2.0Indigenous residents: 13%, a higher share than 91% of Canadian towns
72% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Melfort is home to some 6,028 people (July 2025 estimate), in 2,575 households at the 2021 Census. Children under 15: nearly a fifth of the total. Higher than in nearly four fifths of Canadian towns: 36% of households are one person living alone.
What stands out about the people of Melfort
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 13% of residents, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, and 5.7% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
From 2016 to 2021, 82% of Canadian towns grew faster than Melfort: −1%
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Saskatchewan’s towns, ±0%.
In Melfort, 24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 76% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, against 12% in Melfort. Across the comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: 7% of residents. With a median age of 42.8, Melfort is older than 54% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Melfort, 42.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
2.3 people per household, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
8.2% of households are one-parent families.
Melfort ranks below 72% of Canadian towns on common-law partners: 8.1%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 25% of adults, beside a typical 27%. As a reference point, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Households in buildings of five or more storeys make up 3.7% in Melfort, more than in 70% 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
Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in Melfort comes in at 69%. At 34%, the share of renter households is higher than in 65% of Canadian towns. A fifth of homes were built before 1961 and 17% in 2001 or later.
The median household brings in $71,500 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Melfort’s median household took in $71,500 before tax, 17% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Saskatchewan’s towns have a median of $86,500. 20% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
Residents who moved in within the year: 14%, a higher share than 75% of Canadian towns
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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
7.6% of residents are immigrants, against 17% across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (87%), then in Europe (5.7%).
39% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 61% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 8.7% of residents belong to a visible minority in Melfort. The benchmark for residents with no religion across Canada’s towns: 35%.
English is the mother tongue of 88%, and 1.6% speak French as well
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
Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 0.7%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. Melfort has fewer bilingual residents than 99% of Canadian towns, at 1.6%.
Melfort ranks below 66% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 21%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 10% here, 9.5% in the typical town. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 60%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 60%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
41 towns of 5,931 to 6,127 people: this is the 14th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The group spans Inkster Gardens, youngest at 33.4, to Creston, oldest at 57.6. Nearest to Melfort in age: Country Hills West (41.8), Cedarbrae (42), Stettler (43.2) and Cochrane (43.6).
Older than Melfort: 3 of the 5 towns nearby
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. The nearest places to Melfort with figures are 37–76 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melfort | 6,028 | — | 42.8 | 24% | 7.6% |
| Tisdale | 3,052 | 37.3 km | 46.4 | 29% | 5.7% |
| Birch Hills | 1,093 | 57.2 km | 41.6 | 22% | 1.9% |
| Torch River No. 488 | 1,277 | 65.5 km | 52 | 28% | 2.1% |
| Nipawin | 5,033 | 68.0 km | 41.2 | 23% | 5.9% |
| St. Louis No. 431 | 1,080 | 76.1 km | 47.6 | 24% | 1.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- Against Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Saskatchewan’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
Questions about Melfort’s residents
How diverse is Melfort?
Immigrants make up 7.6% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 8.7% are members of a visible minority, and 13% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Melfort?
Christian: 60%. No religion: 39%. Another religion: 1.3%.
Is Melfort good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 19%. 49% of households are couple families and 8.2% one-parent families. Schools near Melfort are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Melfort?
$71,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Melfort (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Melfort?
Statistics Canada estimates 6,028 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 5,955 in Melfort, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Melfort?
42.8 is the median age, older than 54% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 19%. 65 and over: 24%.
Is Melfort bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 1.6% are. Another 0% speak only French and 98% only English, and French is the first language of 0.7%.
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).