Photo: P199 · Public domainIndigenous residents: 12%, a higher share than 90% of Canadian towns
93% of households live in a single-detached house; across Canada’s towns the figure is 64%. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 8.5% here, fewer than in 86% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 3,147 residents; the 2021 Census found 1,250 households. The share of immigrants stands at 4.2%. The census figures here are for the whole of Laurentian Hills, the municipality that includes Chalk River.
What stands out about the people of Chalk River
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 12% of residents, more than in 90% of Canadian towns, and 5.2% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Chalk River went from 2,961 people in 2016 to 2,885 in 2021, −3%: slower growth than in 91% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A −3% change since 2016: slower than 91% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 9%. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across Ontario’s towns.
Chalk River: 18% of residents are under 15, above 70% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15. Here, 19% of residents are 65 or over. Half of Chalk River’s residents are under 42, younger than in 51% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Chalk River, 42. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women.
Smaller households than 64% of Canadian towns: 2.3 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.
One-parent families account for 8.4%. 28% of households are one person living alone (Canada’s towns: 27%).
Chalk River: 15% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 76% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
A fifth of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. As a reference point, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Renter households make up 10% in Chalk River, less than in 89% of Canadian towns
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. The wider picture: a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 28% predate 1961, 11% date from 2001 or later.
Household income at the median: $93,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Chalk River had $93,000 before tax, 8% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 16% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
In Chalk River, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 67% 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
Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (50%), then in Asia (33%). As a yardstick, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Chalk River has fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than 89% of Canadian towns, at 1%.
Residents with no religion make up 38% in Chalk River, more than in 59% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 2.6% in Chalk River. Across Canada’s towns, residents with no religion come to 35%.
6.2% of residents have French as their mother tongue, a share 73% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
At home: English 96%, French 2.6%. The benchmark for residents whose mother tongue is French across Canada’s towns: 1.5%. Compared with other places, bilingual residents are common here: 14%, more than in 68% of Canadian towns.
Only 13% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Chalk River
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 7.8% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
55% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
55% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 19% are 65 or more.
17th lowest median age among 41 towns of 3,100 to 3,198
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
La Loche is the youngest of them at 25.6; Valhalla, at 66, the oldest. Closest in median age to Chalk River are Brookside (40.9), Westgate (42), Mont-Saint-Grégoire (42.4) and Beaumont (43.2).
4 in 5 nearby towns have a higher median age than Chalk River
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. The nearest places to Chalk River with figures are 8–37 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalk River | 3,147 | — | 42 | 19% | 4.2% |
| Deep River | 4,353 | 7.7 km | 47.6 | 26% | 16% |
| Petawawa | 19,606 | 22.5 km | 32 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
| Laurentian Valley | 9,714 | 35.0 km | 45.6 | 21% | 3.8% |
| L'Isle-aux-Allumettes | 1,413 | 36.5 km | 50 | 26% | 3.3% |
| Pembroke | 15,479 | 36.7 km | 46.4 | 27% | 4.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
Questions about Chalk River’s residents
Is Chalk River bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 14% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 86% speak only English and 0.3% only French; 6.2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Chalk River?
4.2% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.6% belong to a visible minority and 12% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Chalk River?
61% are Christian and 38% have no religion; 1.4% follow another religion.
Is Chalk River good for families?
Under 15: 18% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 58% of households. One-parent families: 8.4%. Schools near Chalk River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Chalk River?
The median household in Chalk River took in $93,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Chalk River?
Chalk River had about 3,147 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 2,885, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Chalk River?
A median age of 42, younger than 51% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 18%, and people 65 and over 19%.
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).