Photo: Madereugeneandrew · CC BY-SA 4.0In Kingston, 47% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 81% of Canadian towns
The median age in Kingston is 45.6, higher than in 71% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 24,574 residents; the 2021 Census found 9,460 households. Census figures put immigrants at 4.1% locally. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, against 9.3% here. Every figure here is for Kings, Subd. A as a whole, the municipality Kingston belongs to.
A +1% change since 2016: slower than 74% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +2% across Nova Scotia’s towns. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 10%.
Kingston: 22% of residents are 65 or over, above 66% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
55–59 is the most common age band: 8.7% of residents. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. The share of children under 15 is 17%, against 16% across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Kingston, 45.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Kingston households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 64% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families account for 8%. Nothing unusual on one-person households: 27%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of common-law partners than 72% of Canadian towns: 14%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 23% of adults (typical: 27%). By way of comparison, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of households in single-detached houses than 74% of Canadian towns: 81%
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
A quarter of homes were built before 1961 and 18% in 2001 or later. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $71,500 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Kingston’s median household took in $71,500 before tax, 17% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $69,100, the median across Nova Scotia’s towns. COVID-19 benefits went to 20% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Kingston sits below 62% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (9.8%)
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
Most recent wave: 17% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Compared with other places, residents without Canadian citizenship are scarce here: 1.3%, fewer than in 85% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Kingston ranks above 68% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 4.7%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents is 15%; Kingston has 2.9%. The usual figure: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
More residents whose mother tongue is French than 68% of Canadian towns: 3%
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
The share of bilingual residents stands at 8.4%. For residents whose mother tongue is French, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 1.5%.
In Kingston, 17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 77% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 12% here, 9.5% in the typical town. The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
53% of residents 15 and over were in work
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.
The employment rate of 53% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (23,484 to 25,789 people), the 12th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Wellington Place is the youngest of them at 31.1; White Rock, at 58, the oldest. By median age, Kingston sits among Sept-Îles (44.4), Kingsville (45.2), Mount Pearl (46) and Milliken (46.8).
No nearby town is as young as Kingston
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | 24,574 | — | 45.6 | 22% | 4.1% |
| Berwick | 2,631 | 8.0 km | 56.8 | 36% | 5.5% |
| Annapolis County, Subdivision C | 5,694 | 16.2 km | 50 | 23% | 3.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Kingston’s residents
Is Kingston bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 8.4% are. Another 0.2% speak only French and 91% only English, and French is the first language of 3%.
How diverse is Kingston?
4.1% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.9% belong to a visible minority and 4.7% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Kingston?
53% are Christian and 47% have no religion; 0.9% follow another religion.
Is Kingston good for families?
Under 15: 17% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 58% of households. One-parent families: 8%. Schools near Kingston are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Kingston?
The median household in Kingston took in $71,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Kingston?
Kingston had about 24,574 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 22,355, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Kingston?
A median age of 45.6, older than 71% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 17%, and people 65 and over 22%.
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).