Photo: Duckdave · CC BY-SA 4.07.7% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
The median age in Barrie is 39.2, lower than in 69% of Canadian towns. This Ontario town is home to some 174,469 people (July 2025 estimate), in 55,315 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. One-parent families: 11% here and 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
From 2016 to 2021, Barrie outgrew 53% of Canadian towns: +5%
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 18%.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 13%, a higher share than 80% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
No age band is larger than 25–29: 7.3% of residents. At 16%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is lower than in two thirds of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Barrie, 39.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
Larger households than 67% of Canadian towns: 2.6 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns, against 24% in Barrie.
A lower share of married residents 15 and over than 62% of Canadian towns, at 42%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
30% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. The usual figure: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Barrie, the census puts common-law partners at 12%.
Renter households make up 32% in Barrie, more than in 63% 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
Newer homes outnumber old: 33% date from 2001 or later, 10% from before 1961. Single-detached houses hold 58% of households, less than in 57% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 7.7%. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%.
Median household income here: $93,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Barrie’s median household took in $93,000 before tax, 8% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Ontario’s towns, the household in the middle had $91,600. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 33% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
In Barrie, 6.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens, more than in 55% 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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (40%) and in Asia (34%). Elsewhere, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns. Most recent wave: 26% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%).
Barrie sits above 68% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (41%)
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
At 3.7%, the share of Indigenous residents is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 35% across Canada’s towns. Among other religions: Muslim (2.5%).
81% have English as their mother tongue; 6.6% also speak French
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
7% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.8% speak neither official language. At 1.7%, residents whose mother tongue is French sit close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Barrie sits below 53% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (25%)
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 8.9% (typical 9.5%). On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
58% of residents 15 and over were in work
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
58% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The 11th youngest of 41 towns of 105,520 to 243,107 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The youngest of these towns is Milton, at 36; the oldest, Cape Breton, is at 50.4. Nearest to Barrie in age: Oshawa (39.2), Bowmanville (39.2), Whitby (40) and Chilliwack (40.4).
Barrie and its 3 nearest towns: 2 of them are older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrie | 174,469 | — | 39.2 | 16% | 17% |
| Innisfil | 50,686 | 12.5 km | 42 | 17% | 20% |
| Angus | 26,036 | 14.9 km | 37.6 | 12% | 12% |
| Springwater | 24,144 | 14.9 km | 43.2 | 17% | 10% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Ontario’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. 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. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
Questions about Barrie’s residents
What is the median income in Barrie?
$93,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Barrie (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Barrie?
Statistics Canada estimates 174,469 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 147,829 in Barrie, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Barrie?
39.2 is the median age, younger than 69% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 17%. 65 and over: 16%.
Is Barrie bilingual?
English and French: 6.6% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 93%. French only: 0.1%. French mother tongue: 1.7%.
How diverse is Barrie?
Immigrants make up 17% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 17% are members of a visible minority, and 3.7% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Barrie?
Christian: 53%. No religion: 41%. Another religion: 6.7%.
Is Barrie good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 17%. 50% of households are couple families and 11% one-parent families. Schools near Barrie are on its Schools page.
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).