Photo: Unknown artist Unknown artist · Public domain31% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
By its share of residents who moved in within the year (17%), Dawson is above 86% of Canadian towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.9% in the town. With a median age of 39.6, Dawson is younger than 66% of Canadian towns. Some 1,841 people live here, by the estimate for July 2025.
What stands out about the people of Dawson
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 31% of residents, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 21% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 47%, more than in 95% of Canadian towns, and 15% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Growing faster than most
Dawson went from 1,375 people in 2016 to 1,577 in 2021, +15%: faster growth than in 92% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
A town of renters
50% of households rent their home, more than in 85% of Canadian towns; 13% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Faster growth than 92% of Canadian towns: Dawson changed by +15% since 2016
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, Canada’s towns changed by a median +4%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 17%.
Dawson ranks below 73% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 15%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Compared with 16% across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents are under 15 here. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
In Dawson, 47% of households are one person living alone, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households average 2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. In Dawson, 7.8% of households are one-parent families. Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households is 27%.
Only 26% of residents 15 and over are married in Dawson
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Set against 11% across Canada’s towns, 21% of residents 15 and over live common-law in Dawson. Single and never married: 38% of adults, against a typical 27%.
Renter households make up 50% in Dawson, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%. On the census count, 72% of households live in a single-detached house. 11% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
The median household brings in $77,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Dawson: half had less than $77,000, 10% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). 27% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
12% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Of the immigrants living here, 43% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (40%) and in Europe (31%).
65% of residents said they have no religion, a share 98% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Buddhist (3%). Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 61% of Canadian towns. The share of residents with no religion across Canada’s towns is 35%.
A higher share of residents whose mother tongue is French than 72% of Canadian towns, at 5.1%
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 93%, French 1.9%. Bilingual residents are more common here than in 66% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, residents whose mother tongue is French come to 1.5%.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 55% of Canadian towns: 25%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Dawson, 25%, and 33% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 13%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
72% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 72%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
The places around Dawson
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. No closer place has figures: this one lies 156 km from Dawson.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson | 1,841 | — | 39.6 | 15% | 12% |
| Yukon, Unorganized | 1,593 | 155.7 km | 49.2 | 20% | 14% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Canada’s towns. Yukon has too few towns of 2,500 or more for a median of its own, so each figure is set beside the median of all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out).
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- 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.
Questions about Dawson’s residents
What is the population of Dawson?
About 1,841, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,577 people in Dawson, 15% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Dawson?
The median age is 39.6. 15% are under 15 and 15% 65 or older.
Is Dawson bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 13% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 87% speak only English and 0% only French; 5.1% grew up with French.
How diverse is Dawson?
Immigrants: 12% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 8.1%. Indigenous identity: 31%.
What religion are people in Dawson?
65% said they have no religion and 28% that they are Christian; 7.5% named another faith.
Is Dawson good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 36% of households and one-parent families 7.8%. Schools near Dawson are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Dawson?
Half of Dawson’s households had more than $77,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).