Photo: Sikander Iqbal · CC BY-SA 4.043% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
By its share of one-parent families (14%), Downtown is above 96% of Canadian towns. The share of visible minority residents stands at 51%. 17% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a higher share than in 86% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census counted 15,686 residents in 6,535 households.
What stands out about the people of Downtown
A neighbourhood of high-rises
43% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 94% of Canadian towns; 18% of homes are condominiums. Homes ↓
A neighbourhood of renters
55% of households rent their home, more than in 88% of Canadian towns; 61% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Younger than 59% of Canadian towns: half of Downtown is under 40.6
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Set against 16% across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents are under 15 in Downtown. The census found that 17% of residents are 65 or over in the neighbourhood.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Downtown, 40.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
Downtown sits above 82% of Canadian towns for one-person households (37%)
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Downtown, 2.3. Set beside that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Downtown sits below 80% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (6.9%)
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Married residents 15 and over make up 37%, against 46% across Canada’s towns. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Renter households: 55%, a higher share than 88% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
29% of homes were built before 1961 and 23% in 2001 or later. Compared with other places, households in single-detached houses are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 88% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Household income, middle of the range: $73,500 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Downtown had $73,500 before tax, 15% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Ontario’s towns, the typical figure is $91,600. In 2020, 33% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Downtown ranks above 83% of Canadian towns on immigrants: 39%
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 45%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (40%) and in the Americas (27%). Measured more widely, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. More residents who moved in within the year than in 74% of Canadian towns: 14%.
Downtown ranks below 78% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 25%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Hindu (8%), Muslim (4.9%) and Sikh (4.9%). Residents with no religion: 35% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Indigenous residents are rarer here than in 77% of Canadian towns.
English is the mother tongue of 67%, and 5.1% speak French as well
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 78%, French 0.2%. On bilingual residents, Downtown sits lower than 73% of Canadian towns: 5.1%. The neighbourhood sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.9%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 56% of Canadian towns: 30%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 12%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 54%
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 54%; 17% of residents are 65 or over.
In its size band (15,315 to 16,036), the 14th youngest of 41 towns
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The group spans Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont, youngest at 32.1, to Parksville, oldest at 62. Closest in median age to Downtown are Lansing-Westgate (39.6), Thorncliffe (40.5), Lougheed (40.7) and Lavaltrie (40.8).
A younger town than 1 of the 6 around it: Downtown
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown | 15,686 | — | 40.6 | 17% | 39% |
| Northwood Park | 10,402 | 2.0 km | 37.1 | 15% | 44% |
| Peel Village | 13,037 | 2.1 km | 41.7 | 16% | 38% |
| Ridgehill / Armbro Heights | 14,321 | 2.2 km | 39.3 | 18% | 45% |
| Centre | 17,851 | 2.2 km | 38.4 | 15% | 48% |
| Royal Orchard | 15,006 | 2.3 km | 37.9 | 14% | 48% |
| Fletchers West | 18,552 | 2.6 km | 33.4 | 12% | 55% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- 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. For each measure we take the median of Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada publishes the census for municipalities, not neighbourhoods, so these figures add up the dissemination areas inside the neighbourhood. Counts are sums of StatCan’s rounded counts; the median age and income are worked out from the published age and income groups; and 2016 areas don’t add up to these, so there is no 2016 count.
Questions about Downtown’s residents
How diverse is Downtown?
39% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 51% belong to a visible minority and 1.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Downtown?
55% are Christian and 25% have no religion; 20% follow another religion.
Is Downtown good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 36% of households. One-parent families: 14%. Schools near Downtown are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Downtown?
The median household in Downtown took in $73,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Downtown?
The 2021 Census counted 15,686 people in Downtown.
What is the average age in Downtown?
A median age of 40.6, younger than 59% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 17%.
Is Downtown bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 5.1% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 93% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
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).