Photo: Tudor Costache · CC BY-SA 3.0Only 10% of households rent their home in Central Elgin
With one-person households at 20%, Central Elgin is behind 76% of Canadian towns on that count. The 2021 Census found 5,460 households locally; by July 2025 the population was about 15,230. Census figures put residents with no religion at 41% here. Half of the town’s residents are over 48.8, older than in just over four fifths of Canadian towns.
Since 2016, Central Elgin has grown +9%, faster than 77% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 11% higher again. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 23%, a higher share than 72% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The largest age band is 55–59: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. In Central Elgin, 9.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Central Elgin, 48.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Central Elgin households average 2.5 people, larger than in 58% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Here 6% of households are one-parent families, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 8.2%.
57% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 87% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
A fifth of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Central Elgin, the census puts common-law partners at 11%.
93% of households live in a single-detached house, a share 93% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
Older homes outnumber new: 34% predate 1961, 22% date from 2001 or later. Households in single-detached houses make up 64% across Canada’s towns.
The median household brings in $103,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Central Elgin had $103,000 before tax, 20% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Ontario’s towns, the household in the middle had $91,600. In 2020, 23% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 9% in Central Elgin, less than in 72% of Canadian towns
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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (67%) or in the Americas (18%). Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. 9.8% of residents are immigrants, a lower share than in 65% of Canadian towns. Recent arrivals are 10% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns.
57% said they are Christian and 41% that they have no religion
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Where 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, Central Elgin has 3.1%. Compared with other places, Indigenous residents are scarce here: 1.9%, fewer than in 63% of Canadian towns.
92% have English as their mother tongue; 5.5% 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
Central Elgin sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.8%, about the same as across Canada’s towns. At home: English 98%, French 0.2%. On bilingual residents, Central Elgin sits lower than 69% of Canadian towns: 5.5%.
Central Elgin sits below 60% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (23%)
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
6.9% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
An employment rate of 57%
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.
Employment here, 57%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
Among 41 towns of 14,947 to 15,514 people, the 7th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Laurel is the youngest of them at 31.2; Parksville, at 62, the oldest. Closest in median age to Central Elgin are Buttonville (47.3), Edenbridge-Humber Valley (47.6), Lachute (50.4) and Gaspé (50.4).
Every nearby town is younger than Central Elgin
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elgin | 15,230 | — | 48.8 | 23% | 9.8% |
| St. Thomas | 49,388 | 2.0 km | 43.6 | 21% | 10% |
| Aylmer | 8,371 | 13.5 km | 39.2 | 20% | 17% |
| Southwold | 5,473 | 14.1 km | 44 | 20% | 6.5% |
| Malahide | 9,995 | 14.7 km | 37.2 | 16% | 16% |
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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about Central Elgin’s residents
What is the average age in Central Elgin?
A median age of 48.8, older than 82% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 23%.
Is Central Elgin bilingual?
English and French: 5.5% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 0.8%.
How diverse is Central Elgin?
9.8% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 3.1% belong to a visible minority and 1.9% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Central Elgin?
57% are Christian and 41% have no religion; 1.8% follow another religion.
Is Central Elgin good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 67% of households. One-parent families: 6%. Schools near Central Elgin are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Central Elgin?
The median household in Central Elgin took in $103,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Central Elgin?
Central Elgin had about 15,230 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 13,746, 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).