Photo: Drozwik Drones · CC BY 3.0Half of Cobourg is over 54.8, older than 95% of Canadian towns
Where 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, Cobourg has 12%. With about 22,529 residents in July 2025, Cobourg counted 9,135 households at the 2021 Census. 32% of households are one person living alone. The town has more households in buildings of five or more storeys than 71% of Canadian towns, at 3.9%.
What stands out about the people of Cobourg
Older than most towns
Line Cobourg’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 54.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 34% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Growth of +6% since 2016 puts Cobourg ahead of 60% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 10%. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Ontario’s towns, by more than +6%.
Cobourg: 34% of residents are 65 or over, above 97% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.8%, Cobourg is behind 82% of Canadian towns on that count. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Cobourg, 54.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Smaller households than 74% of Canadian towns: 2.2 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.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families is 8.2%; Cobourg has 9.4%.
57% of adults are married or living common-law
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
22% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). For Cobourg, the census puts common-law partners at 11%.
31% of households rent their home, more than in 62% 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
Older homes outnumber new: 28% predate 1961, 25% date from 2001 or later. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%. Single-detached houses hold 58% of households, less than in 58% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 3.9%.
$77,000 a year is the median household income here
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Cobourg’s households had a total income below $77,000, 10% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 23% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Cobourg: 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 61% of Canadian towns
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
Where 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns, Cobourg has 2.5%. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (67%) and in the Americas (15%).
A larger share of residents with no religion than 73% of Canadian towns: 43%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 5% here and 15% across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents: 2.7% of the total. The benchmark for residents with no religion across Canada’s towns: 35%.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 7.3% also speak French
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
At home: English 97%, French 0.2%. Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 1.5%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Below 58% of Canadian towns: 23% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 8.7% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
45% of residents 15 and over were in work
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
45% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 34% are 65 or more.
Of 41 towns its size (21,949 to 23,115 people), the 1st oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The span goes from 31.4 (Electoral Area A, Metro Vancouver) up to 54.8 (Cobourg). Closest in median age to Cobourg are Uxbridge (47.2) and Steeles (49.4).
Every nearby town is younger than Cobourg
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cobourg | 22,529 | — | 54.8 | 34% | 13% |
| Hamilton | 11,810 | 9.5 km | 49.6 | 23% | 8.9% |
| Port Hope | 18,446 | 10.8 km | 50.8 | 28% | 10% |
| Alnwick/Haldimand | 8,197 | 14.8 km | 49.6 | 23% | 9.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Cobourg’s residents
What religion are people in Cobourg?
55% are Christian and 43% have no religion; 2% follow another religion.
Is Cobourg good for families?
Under 15: 12% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 50% of households. One-parent families: 9.4%. Schools near Cobourg are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cobourg?
The median household in Cobourg took in $77,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Cobourg?
Cobourg had about 22,529 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 20,519, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Cobourg?
A median age of 54.8, older than 95% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 12%, and people 65 and over 34%.
Is Cobourg bilingual?
7.3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 92% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.5%.
How diverse is Cobourg?
13% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 5% belong to a visible minority and 2.7% have an Indigenous identity.
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).