Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0More households in buildings of five or more storeys than 78% of Canadian towns: 9%
In Belleville, 24% of residents are 65 or over, beside 19% across Canada’s towns. The share of residents with no religion stands at 42%. Few places have as many one-person households: 31% here, more than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 62,914 residents; the 2021 Census found 23,535 households.
A +9% change since 2016: Belleville grew faster than 75% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across Ontario’s towns. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 14%.
Half of Belleville is over 45.2, older than 69% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
No age band is larger than 55–59: 7.6% of residents. At 15%, the share of children under 15 is lower than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Belleville, 45.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of one-parent families than 75% of Canadian towns: 10%
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households in Belleville hold 2.3 people on average (Canada’s towns: 2.4). The benchmark for one-parent families across Canada’s towns: 8.2%.
A lower share of married residents 15 and over than 64% of Canadian towns, at 42%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
12% of residents 15 and over live common-law (Canada’s towns: 11%).
Renter households make up 38% in Belleville, more than in 71% of Canadian towns
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
A third of homes were built before 1961 and 19% in 2001 or later. Across Canada’s towns, a quarter of households rent their home. Where 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns, Belleville has 59%.
The median household brings in $73,000 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 Belleville had $73,000 before tax, 15% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Ontario’s towns have a median of $91,600. The pandemic’s benefits: 26% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Above 65% of Canadian towns: 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Across Canada’s towns, 17% of residents are immigrants; in Belleville, 9.3%. The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Europe (42%) or in Asia (37%).
A larger share of Indigenous residents than 73% of Canadian towns: 5.6%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 15% across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents in Belleville comes in at 9.3%. As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
90% have English as their mother tongue; 6.2% 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: English 95%, French 0.5%. Lower than in 61% of Canadian towns: 6.2% of residents speak English and French. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.5%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
Belleville sits below 66% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (20%)
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 11% (typical 9.5%). Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 49% of adults
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.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 49%; 24% of residents are 65 or over.
41 towns of 49,527 to 79,371 people: this is the 12th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages climb from 34 (Grande Prairie) to 54.4 (Shawinigan) across the group. Next to Belleville on this scale come Saint John (44), Welland (45.2), Pointe-aux-Trembles (45.3) and Quinte West (45.6).
The towns around Belleville are all older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belleville | 62,914 | — | 45.2 | 24% | 9.3% |
| Quinte West | 50,385 | 15.6 km | 45.6 | 22% | 7.6% |
| Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory | 3,028 | 17.8 km | 48 | 22% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- 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 Belleville’s residents
What is the average age in Belleville?
The median age is 45.2, older than 69% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 24% 65 or older.
Is Belleville bilingual?
English and French: 6.2% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 93%. French only: 0.1%. French mother tongue: 1.5%.
How diverse is Belleville?
Immigrants: 9.3% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 9.3%. Indigenous identity: 5.6%.
What religion are people in Belleville?
42% said they have no religion and 53% that they are Christian; 4.5% named another faith.
Is Belleville good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 48% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Belleville are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Belleville?
Half of Belleville’s households had more than $73,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Belleville?
About 62,914, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 55,071 people in Belleville, 9% more than 2016.
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).