More one-parent families than 96% of Canadian towns: 14%
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 39% of residents belong to a visible minority in York. In York, 17% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. With a median age of 37, York is younger than just over four fifths of Canadian towns. The neighbourhood counted 4,030 residents and 1,455 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of York
A neighbourhood of families
Children under 15 are 21% of residents, more than in 89% of Canadian towns. Households average 2.8 people, and 14% are one-parent families. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Children under 15 make up 21% in York, more than in 89% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Residents aged 65 and over: 15%, below 71% of Canadian towns. The biggest five-year age group is 10–14, with 7.1% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ York, 37. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
2.8 people per household, more than in 80% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-person households trails 71% of Canadian towns: 22%. Shared houses stand out: 7.6% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 90% of Canadian towns.
8.3% of residents 15 and over live common-law, below 70% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over a third of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%. The census found that 42% of residents 15 and over are married in York.
York ranks above 74% of Canadian towns on renter households: 40%
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
Older homes outnumber new: 7.5% predate 1961, 5.1% date from 2001 or later. As a reference point, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Fewer households in single-detached houses than in 63% of Canadian towns: 54%.
Household income, middle of the range: $84,100 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in York had $84,100 before tax, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Alberta’s towns: $92,200. 35% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
York: 14% of residents are not Canadian citizens, above 80% 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 40%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most immigrants were born in Asia (38%) or in Africa (36%). Across Canada’s towns, residents without Canadian citizenship come to 5.8%. York has more immigrants than 73% of Canadian towns, at 31%. What’s more, of the immigrants living here, 49% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Indigenous residents make up 7.8% in York, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (15%). The share of Indigenous residents across Canada’s towns is 2.8%. Residents with no religion: 35%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
66% have English as their mother tongue; 4.8% also speak French
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
At home, 16% mostly speak another language; 2% speak neither English nor French. Fewer bilingual residents than in 77% of Canadian towns: 4.8%. York sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.9%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, below 77% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in York, 17%, and 32% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%).
A job for 53% of residents aged 15 and over
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 53% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 15% of residents are 65 or over.
The 5th youngest of 41 towns of 3,957 to 4,103 people
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
They run from Mistissini, at 29, to Okanagan Falls, at 59.2. Closest in median age to York are Leila North (32.1), Keswick (32.1), Balwin (37.1) and North Norfolk (37.2).
York is younger than 4 of its 6 nearest neighbours
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
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. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Alberta’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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada publishes the census for municipalities, not neighbourhoods, so these figures add up the dissemination areas inside the neighbourhood. Counts are sums of StatCan’s rounded counts; the median age and income are worked out from the published age and income groups; and 2016 areas don’t add up to these, so there is no 2016 count.
Questions about York’s residents
Is York bilingual?
English and French: 4.8% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 93%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.9%.
How diverse is York?
31% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 39% belong to a visible minority and 7.8% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in York?
47% are Christian and 35% have no religion; 18% follow another religion.
Is York good for families?
Under 15: 21% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 46% of households. One-parent families: 14%. Schools near York are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in York?
The median household in York took in $84,100 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of York?
4,030, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for York alone.
What is the average age in York?
A median age of 37, younger than 82% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 21%, and people 65 and over 15%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).