Photo: Rub-a-dub Hedgehog · CC BY 4.0A median age of 46.4: Chatham is older than 74% of Canadian towns
Nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over (Canada’s towns: 19%). Here, 3.5% of households live in a building of five or more storeys. Few places have so few residents who moved in within the year: 8.7% here, fewer than in 76% of Canadian towns. With about 112,716 residents in July 2025, Chatham counted 44,030 households at the 2021 Census. Every figure here is for Chatham-Kent as a whole, the municipality Chatham belongs to.
From 2016 to 2021, 62% of Canadian towns grew faster than Chatham: +2%
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 8% higher again.
16% of residents are under 15, fewer than in 51% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
60–64 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents. At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Chatham, 46.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Chatham sits above 63% of Canadian towns for one-person households (30%)
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: 9.6% here and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. The wider picture: 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. A household here holds 2.3 people on average.
Chatham ranks above 54% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 48%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
A quarter of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Across Chatham, 10% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
A larger share of households in single-detached houses than 67% of Canadian towns: 76%
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: 40% predate 1961, 8.7% date from 2001 or later. For households in single-detached houses, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 64%. 28% of households rent their home, against 25% across Canada’s towns.
Households here have a median income of $72,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Chatham’s median household took in $72,000 before tax, 16% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 26% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
9.1% of residents are immigrants
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
The share of immigrants trails 67% of Canadian towns: 9.1%. For Chatham, the census puts residents without Canadian citizenship at 2.2%.
In Chatham, 32% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 58% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of Indigenous residents is 2.8%; Chatham has 4.2%. Still, 6.6% of residents belong to a visible minority, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns. Set beside that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 88%, and 6.9% speak French as well
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
Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 2.1%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. At home: English 95%, French 0.4%.
In Chatham, 16% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 81% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 14%, beside a typical 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 51% of adults
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 24% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 51% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 81,611 to 153,865 people, the 4th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages climb from 34.4 (Fort McMurray) to 51.6 (Lindsay) across the group. Next to Chatham on this scale come Saguenay (46), Chomedey (46.2), Trois-Rivières (47.2) and Cape Breton (50.4).
Among its 3 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than Chatham
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. The nearest places to Chatham with figures are 34–50 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham | 112,716 | — | 46.4 | 24% | 9.1% |
| Dawn-Euphemia | 2,127 | 34.3 km | 43.6 | 21% | 6.6% |
| Lakeshore | 45,954 | 45.9 km | 42.8 | 17% | 14% |
| Enniskillen | 3,174 | 49.7 km | 47.2 | 23% | 6.3% |
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. 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.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Ontario’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Chatham’s residents
What is the median income in Chatham?
Half of Chatham’s households had more than $72,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Chatham?
About 112,716, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 103,988 people in Chatham, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Chatham?
The median age is 46.4, older than 74% of Canadian towns. 16% are under 15 and 24% 65 or older.
Is Chatham bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 6.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 92% only English, and French is the first language of 2.1%.
How diverse is Chatham?
Immigrants: 9.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 6.6%. Indigenous identity: 4.2%.
What religion are people in Chatham?
32% said they have no religion and 65% that they are Christian; 2.3% named another faith.
Is Chatham good for families?
16% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 53% of households and one-parent families 9.6%. Schools near Chatham are on its Schools page.
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).