Photo: Michael Gil · CC BY 2.0Above 79% of Canadian towns: 19% of residents are under 15
With a median age of 39.6, Alliston is younger than nearly two thirds of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 50,739 residents; the 2021 Census found 15,850 households. Across Alliston, 20% of households are one person living alone. 16% of households rent their home, against 25% across Canada’s towns. The census figures here are for the whole of New Tecumseth, the municipality that includes Alliston.
What stands out about the people of Alliston
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Alliston went from 34,242 to 43,948 residents (+28%), faster growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A growing town: +28% since 2016, faster than 98% of Canadian towns
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
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 15% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%.
Only 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Alliston
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
No age band is larger than 35–39: 8% of residents. Among Ontario’s towns, Northern Bruce Peninsula has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 41%. Against that, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Alliston, 39.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 76% of Canadian towns: 2.7 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
For Alliston, the census puts one-parent families at 8.1%.
A larger share of married residents 15 and over than 68% of Canadian towns: 52%
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: 24% of adults (typical: 27%). To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. The share of common-law partners stands at 11%.
In Alliston, 71% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 59% 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
43% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 11% built before 1961. Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 0.5%.
$104,000 a year: where the middle household sits
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run high in Alliston: half had more than $104,000, 21% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Ontario’s towns, the typical figure is $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 30% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
19% of residents are immigrants, more than in 54% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Of the immigrants living here, 16% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. On top of that, 10% lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. The share of immigrants across Canada’s towns is 17%. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (42%), then in Asia (35%).
A lower share of residents with no religion than 62% of Canadian towns, at 31%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
In Alliston, 1.7% of residents have an Indigenous identity, beside 2.8% across Canada’s towns. Among other religions: Muslim (2.3%). The benchmark for residents with no religion across Canada’s towns: 35%.
English is the mother tongue of 80%, and 4.7% speak French as well
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
On residents whose mother tongue is French, 1% here is much the same as across Canada’s towns. Alliston has fewer bilingual residents than 78% of Canadian towns, at 4.7%. At home, 7.1% mostly speak another language; 0.9% speak neither English nor French.
Alliston ranks below 65% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 21%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 11%, beside a typical 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
60% 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.
At 60%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
41 towns of 43,243 to 59,444 people: this is the 7th youngest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
At one end is Whalley (34.9), at the other Shawinigan (54.4). Nearest to Alliston in age: Brandon (36.8), Bradford (37.6), Mission (40) and Roseborough (40).
1 of the 2 nearest towns are older than Alliston
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliston | 50,739 | — | 39.6 | 18% | 19% |
| Adjala-Tosorontio | 11,948 | 14.3 km | 46.4 | 17% | 13% |
| Bradford | 51,346 | 17.6 km | 37.6 | 13% | 33% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Ontario’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.
- 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.
Questions about Alliston’s residents
What religion are people in Alliston?
Christian: 62%. No religion: 31%. Another religion: 7.2%.
Is Alliston good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 19%. 60% of households are couple families and 8.1% one-parent families. Schools near Alliston are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Alliston?
$104,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Alliston (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Alliston?
Statistics Canada estimates 50,739 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 43,948 in Alliston, 28% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Alliston?
39.6 is the median age, younger than 66% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 19%. 65 and over: 18%.
Is Alliston bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 4.7% are. Another 0% speak only French and 94% only English, and French is the first language of 1%.
How diverse is Alliston?
Immigrants make up 19% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 18% are members of a visible minority, and 1.7% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
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).