Above 91% of Canadian towns: 48% of residents are immigrants
One-parent families: 13% here and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 17,851 residents in 6,200 households. The census found that 21% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Centre. On residents aged 15 to 24, Centre sits higher than 86% of Canadian towns: 14%.
What stands out about the people of Centre
More immigrants than most towns
Immigrants make up 48% of residents; the medians are 26% across Ontario’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (47%) and in the Americas (29%), and 34% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A mix of backgrounds
65% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 92% of Canadian towns; 48% are immigrants. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Centre is younger than 74% of Canadian towns: a median age of 38.4
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
20–24 is the most common age band: 8% of residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns. The census found that 15% of residents are 65 or over in Centre.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Centre, 38.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Larger households than 84% of Canadian towns: 2.9 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.
Compared with 27% across Canada’s towns, just over a fifth of households are one person living alone here.
Centre sits below 85% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (6.1%)
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
44% of residents 15 and over are married; across Canada’s towns the figure is 46%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
Centre ranks above 85% of Canadian towns on households in buildings of five or more storeys: 18%
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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: 11% predate 1961, 5% date from 2001 or later. 20% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 89% of Canadian towns. At the same time, with renter households at 36%, Centre is ahead of 69% of Canadian towns on that count.
Median gross household income: $87,800 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $87,800, the middle household in Centre earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Ontario’s towns has $91,600 before tax. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 36% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
In Centre, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 69% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 60%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (47%) and in the Americas (29%). Across the comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Of the immigrants living here, 34% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Visible minority residents make up 65% in Centre, more than in 92% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Hindu (10%), Muslim (8.7%) and Sikh (7.6%). Elsewhere, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. 17% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 92% of Canadian towns. Add to that, the share of Indigenous residents is 0.9%, against 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
58% have English as their mother tongue; 4.7% also speak French
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
22% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 2.9% speak neither official language. Fewer bilingual residents than in 78% of Canadian towns: 4.7%. Centre sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Centre sits above 53% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (28%)
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
13% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
An employment rate of 55%
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 55%; 15% of residents are 65 or over.
The 17th youngest of 41 towns of 17,341 to 18,364 people
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The span goes from 29 (Schmidtville) up to 54 (Edmundston). In age, Centre keeps company with Listowel (37.6), Morningside (38.4), Clanton Park (38.7) and Brookhaven-Amesbury (38.7).
Median age: 2 of the 6 towns around Centre are older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre | 17,851 | — | 38.4 | 15% | 48% |
| Lakelands Village | 9,636 | 1.4 km | 35.4 | 10% | 54% |
| Madoc | 13,160 | 1.5 km | 36.4 | 13% | 44% |
| Royal Orchard | 15,006 | 1.7 km | 37.9 | 14% | 48% |
| Downtown | 15,686 | 2.2 km | 40.6 | 17% | 39% |
| Heart Lake South | 19,573 | 2.4 km | 36.6 | 14% | 48% |
| N-Section (bramalea) | 7,513 | 2.8 km | 39.9 | 17% | 48% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Ontario’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada reports the census by municipality; a neighbourhood’s figures are the sum of its dissemination areas, rounded counts and all, with medians estimated from age and income groups and no 2016 count, as the 2016 areas don’t fit.
- 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.
Questions about Centre’s residents
What religion are people in Centre?
Christian: 54%. No religion: 17%. Another religion: 29%.
Is Centre good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 16%. 44% of households are couple families and 13% one-parent families. Schools near Centre are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Centre?
$87,800 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Centre (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Centre?
17,851, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for Centre alone.
What is the average age in Centre?
38.4 is the median age, younger than 74% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 16%. 65 and over: 15%.
Is Centre bilingual?
English and French: 4.7% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 92%. French only: 0.1%. French mother tongue: 1%.
How diverse is Centre?
Immigrants make up 48% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 65% are members of a visible minority, and 0.9% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
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).