Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Central Manitoulin is over 58.4, older than 98% of Canadian towns
Compared with 16% across Canada’s towns, one in ten residents are under 15 here. Fewer residents who moved in within the year than in 89% of Canadian towns: 7.2%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 2,386 residents; the 2021 Census found 1,050 households. Across Central Manitoulin, 6.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
What stands out about the people of Central Manitoulin
Older than most towns
Half of Central Manitoulin’s residents are under 58.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 37% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Central Manitoulin grew +7% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 69% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Ontario’s towns +6%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 37%, a higher share than 99% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 6.5%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 83% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Where 8.2% of households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns, Central Manitoulin has 4.8%. Locally, 32% of households are one person living alone.
Central Manitoulin: 55% of residents 15 and over are married, above 80% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 17% of adults (typical: 27%). Typically, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners account for 11%.
Central Manitoulin: 90% of households live in a single-detached house, above 88% 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 25% predate 1961, 22% date from 2001 or later. 10% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Households here have a median income of $70,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Central Manitoulin’s median household took in $70,000 before tax, 19% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 18% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
5.3% of residents are immigrants
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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (57%) or in the Americas (26%). On residents without Canadian citizenship, Central Manitoulin sits lower than 91% of Canadian towns: 0.9%. Recent arrivals are just over a fifth of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns.
Central Manitoulin ranks above 59% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 38%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With visible minority residents at 0.5%, Central Manitoulin is behind 98% of Canadian towns on that count. To put it in context, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Central Manitoulin: 4.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue, above 71% of Canadian towns
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
7.2% of residents speak English and French. As a reference point, 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 77% of Canadian towns, at 17%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 12% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 43%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 43%; 37% of residents are 65 or over.
Every nearby town is younger than Central Manitoulin
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Central Manitoulin has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 29–46 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Manitoulin | 2,386 | — | 58.4 | 37% | 5.3% |
| Assiginack | 1,137 | 29.1 km | 53.6 | 28% | 5.6% |
| Little Current | 2,764 | 34.0 km | 55.6 | 32% | 4.4% |
| Wikwemikong Unceded | 2,875 | 37.1 km | 34.8 | 13% | 0% |
| Sagamok | 1,200 | 46.1 km | 31.8 | 14% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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. 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.
Questions about Central Manitoulin’s residents
What is the population of Central Manitoulin?
Central Manitoulin had about 2,386 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 2,235, 7% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Central Manitoulin?
A median age of 58.4. Children under 15 make up 10%, and people 65 and over 37%.
Is Central Manitoulin bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 7.2% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 92% speak only English and 0% only French; 4.3% grew up with French.
How diverse is Central Manitoulin?
5.3% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 0.5% belong to a visible minority and 6.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Central Manitoulin?
61% are Christian and 38% have no religion; 1.2% follow another religion.
Is Central Manitoulin good for families?
Under 15: 10% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 58% of households. One-parent families: 4.8%. Schools near Central Manitoulin are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Central Manitoulin?
The median household in Central Manitoulin took in $70,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).