Centre HastingsOntario
Its census division is Hastings. This town in Ontario has a population of 5,170.
Is Centre Hastings a good place to live?
More weak spots than strong ones. Health lags (D). It also trails on jobs & income (C−). Where it does best is safety (B+). Homes were valued at a median $400,000 at the 2021 census, 5.2 times the typical household’s income. The overall grade comes out at C−, #780 of 858 in Ontario. Nationally, it does better than 18% of Canadian towns. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for schools and B− for walkability.
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety less sure: no police service names this town, so its crime figure is the nearest police detachment's, shared with a wider area. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
What makes Centre Hastings stand out
The 3 things Centre Hastings does most differently from other towns.
How Centre Hastings grades
Each subject compares Centre Hastings with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Centre Hastings.
Centre Hastings is graded a D for health
Area-wide: health survey and life expectancy, counted over the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit
Adults here are less upbeat about their health than the province: 45% very good or excellent, against 51% in Ontario. At 18%, the share of adults who smoke tops the 11% for Ontario. Chronic conditions run at a fifth of adults, age-standardised, above Ontario’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (17%) alike. Across the region, life runs to 79.8 years on average: women 81.8, men 77.8, in 2022/2024.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 18% | 10% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 45% | 51% | 52% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 79.8 | 82.8 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Fewer of Centre Hastings’ 15-to-64s are in work than in 77% of Canadian towns
A trip to work takes 30 min on average.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 30 min | 29 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
Measured against local pay, Centre Hastings costs more to live in than four in five Canadian towns
85% of households own their home, higher than both Ontario’s towns (76%) and Canadian towns (74%). Shelter took 30% or more of income for nearly a fifth of households, about level with Canadian towns (18%) and below Ontario’s towns (22%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 85% | 76% | 74% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $400,000 | $695,000 | $406,000 |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 19% | 22% | 18% |
| Rent as a share of income | 20% | 22% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · The 2021 census asked owners what their home was worth; those values, and 2020 incomes, are what this compares.
Centre Hastings is graded a B+ for safety
No police detachment reports under Centre Hastings’s name, so these are the nearest detachment’s figures, not the town’s own
Across its police area, there are 15.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The index for the force that serves it came to 47, below both Ontario’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67). The force’s area logs 8.5 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Centre Hastings doesn’t get its own Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 figures; the ones here come from the Central Hastings detachment area.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 15.5 | 30.5 | 31.2 |
| Crime Severity Index | 47 | 56 | 67 |
| Violent crime | 8.5 | 10.5 | 12 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 68 | 76 | 86 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Centre Hastings’ hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 12% of area homes over the radon guideline
NRCan expects $0.034 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Centre Hastings, near the typical $0.030. The national flood inventory has no study of the town.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 12% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.034 | $0.043 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Centre Hastings and its edges hold 2 schools: 1 elementary school and 1 secondary school
Young children have 4.3 km to the nearest elementary school, above Ontario’s towns (0.5 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km) alike. Secondary school means a trip of 4.4 km at the nearest, higher than both Ontario’s towns (1.2 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Hastings School Middle fifth in OntarioLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | Elementary · Grades JK–8 | 370 | English public |
| Central Hastings School Secondary School Fourth fifth in OntarioLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Secondary · Grades 9–12 | 495 | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest elementary school | 4.3 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
| Nearest secondary school | 4.4 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25
January lows in Centre Hastings: −11.2°C, against −9.1°C in Ontario’s towns and −13.5°C in Canadian towns
Rain and snow peak in September, at 92 mm. Between the last spring frost, 1 May, and the first in autumn, 10 October, lie 161 days. Summer highs average 26.5°C in July, about level with Ontario’s towns (26.7°C) and above Canadian towns (25.5°C). January is the snowiest month, with 44 cm on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −11.2°C | −9.1°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 26.5°C | 26.7°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 146 | 139 | 159 |
| Snowfall a year | 155 cm | 146 cm | 141 cm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Trenton)
Visible minorities make up less of Centre Hastings than of Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 1.6%
First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 5.9% of residents, higher than both Ontario’s towns (1.6%) and Canadian towns (2.8%). 6.2% of residents came to Canada as immigrants, lower than Ontario’s towns (7.6%) and near Canadian towns (6.4%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
50.5% of Centre Hastings’ residents are women
In 2021 there were 2,425 women to 2,375 men; Canada as a whole is 50.9% women.
| Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 59% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 26% | 19% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 18% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 50% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
What November brings in Centre Hastings: −2°C at night, 7°C by day
Over the year, July is warmest at 27°C by day and January coldest at −11°C by night. Expect about 84 mm of rain and snow over November. For today and the week ahead, the Weather page carries ECCC’s Stirling forecast.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 0°C | −10°C | 215 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | 1°C | 230 mm |
| Summer | 25°C | 14°C | 228 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 4°C | 267 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Trenton); the forecast is on the Weather page
Centre Hastings sends Shelby Kramp-Neuman (Conservative Party of Canada) to the Commons from Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga
Centre Hastings’ council of 5 was elected in October 2022, with Tom Deline as mayor.
| Turnout | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal election, 2022 | 32% | 31% | 31% |
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Madoc Public Library is Centre Hastings’s public library
Madoc Public Library has one location for the 4,801 people it serves.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
The The Great Trail (Eastern Ontario) runs by Centre Hastings
OpenStreetMap shows 3 unnamed beaches within 5 km. 10 km from town is Stoco Fen Provincial Park, the nearest provincial park. Within 10 km are 30 protected areas. For a national park, Thousand Islands National Park is 73 km away.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Older housing stands out in Centre Hastings: 32% predates 1961
| Heritage | Centre Hastings | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 32% | 22% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Centre Hastings
Famous people from around Centre Hastings
2 notable people were born in Centre Hastings; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Photo credits
Bert Wemp: Unknown author, Public domain
Centre Hastings’ neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre Hastings | 5,170 | — | C− | C− | B+ | D |
| Madoc | 2,467 | 6.9 | — | D | B+ | D |
| Tweed | 6,504 | 12 | C | D | B+ | C− |
| Marmora | 4,761 | 19 | D | D | B+ | D |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Centre Hastings
Who are the people of Centre Hastings?
At the 2021 census, 6% were immigrants and 2% belonged to a visible minority (Canadian towns’ median: 15%). 6% identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
How old are the people of Centre Hastings?
Half its people are older than 49.2 (the middle of Canadian towns: 45.2); children under 15 make up 15%, people 65 and over 26%.
What kind of homes are in Centre Hastings?
84% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2.4 people; 25% are one person living alone.
Is Centre Hastings growing?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it went from 4,774 to 4,801 residents (up 0.6%; Canadian towns’ median: 4.1%), and Statistics Canada now estimates 5,170.
About Centre Hastings
Town in Ontario
Centre Hastings is a municipality in Ontario, read by TownRatings as Statistics Canada draws it: one census subdivision, so its figures cover the whole municipality.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 5,170 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Ontario
- Census division
- Hastings
- Census subdivision
- 3512026
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).