Colbornein Cramahe, Ontario
It is part of Northumberland, a census division. Population 7,216: a town in Ontario.
Is Colborne a good place to live?
Colborne’s grades pull in different directions. The weak point is cost of living (C−). With a C+ overall, Colborne is better than 38% of Canadian towns. In the ranking it comes #621 of 858 in Ontario. Police record less crime here than in most towns (A+).
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. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Colborne grades
Each subject compares Colborne 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 →
What makes Colborne stand out
The one thing Colborne does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Colborne.
Violent crime weighs less on Colborne than on Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 42
Violent incidents came to 7.4 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Ontario’s towns (10.5) and Canadian towns (12). Each year brings 11.4 property incidents per 1,000 residents.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 11.4 | 30.5 | 31.2 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 42 | 76 | 86 |
| Violent crime | 7.4 | 10.5 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Measured against local pay, Colborne costs more to live in than 80% of Canadian towns
Owners make up 85% of households, above both Ontario’s towns (76%) and Canadian towns (74%). Shelter took 30% or more of income for 17% of households, lower than both Ontario’s towns (22%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 85% | 76% | 74% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 17% | 22% | 18% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $500,000 | $695,000 | $406,000 |
| Rent as a share of income | 19% | 22% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020.
Colborne’s health region counts 18% of adults who smoke, above the typical Canadian town’s 12%
Source area for health survey and life expectancy: the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
Across the region, 49% of adults say their health is very good or excellent, much as in Ontario (51%). People in the region live to 81.0 on average: 83.0 for women and 79.0 for men in 2022/2024. A hospital lies 24 km from the typical home, above both Ontario’s towns (3.3 km) and Canadian towns (3.7 km).
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 18% | 10% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 81.0 | 82.8 | 81.5 |
| Very good or excellent health | 49% | 51% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Colborne is on Canada’s flood inventory: 2 listed, led by Lower Trent Region Conservation Authority
Colborne’s survey area, 6.1% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. NRCan expects $0.029 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in the town, near the typical $0.030. For radon tests, the only official count covers all of the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Heal health region, Colborne included.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 6.1% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.029 | $0.043 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Commuters in Colborne travel further than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns, 32 min on average
93% of commuters drove to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 32 min | 29 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 93% | 88% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
No high school in or near Colborne: the closest is 12 km off
Boards running schools in the area: 2, below Ontario’s towns (4) and Canadian towns (3) alike. An elementary school stands 3.2 km from the centre, above Ontario’s towns (0.5 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km) alike.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northumberland Hills Public School Middle fifth in OntarioLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | Elementary · Grades JK–8 | 365 | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Nearest secondary school | 12 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
| Nearest elementary school | 3.2 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25
Colborne has cooler summers than Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: July highs of 23.6°C
The coldest nights come in January, when Colborne averages a low of −8.7°C. There are 126 days of frost in a typical year, lower than both Ontario’s towns (139) and Canadian towns (159). A normal January brings 44 cm of snow, the most of any month. For the wettest month, look to September: 92 mm on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 23.6°C | 26.7°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 126 | 139 | 159 |
| January night low | −8.7°C | −9.1°C | −13.5°C |
| Snowfall a year | 155 cm | 146 cm | 141 cm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Cobourg)
Fewer of Colborne’s people belong to a visible minority than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 3.2%
Over-65s are 23% of the population. 14% are under 15, below Ontario’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (16%) alike.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
49.5% of Colborne’s residents are women
3,220 women and 3,290 men at the 2021 census; across Canada, women are 50.9%.
| Colborne | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 63% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 23% | 19% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 47% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
What November brings in Colborne: freezing at night, 7°C by day
For today and the week ahead, the Weather page carries ECCC’s Cobourg forecast. By December, a normal day reaches 2°C and a night falls to −5°C. About 10 cm of snow falls in a normal November. A normal November brings 84 mm of rain and snow.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 0°C | −7°C | 215 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | 2°C | 230 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 15°C | 228 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 267 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Cobourg); the forecast is on the Weather page
Philip Lawrence (Conservative Party of Canada) holds Northumberland—Clarke, the riding that includes Colborne
Across Ontario, 71 of the 122 MPs sit with the Liberal Party of Canada.
| Turnout | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal election, 2022 | 24% | 31% | 31% |
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Colborne has two public libraries, Cramahe Township Public Library - Castleton Branch and Cramahe Township Public Library - Colborne Branch
Cramahe Township Public Library serves 7,932 people from 2 branches.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Presqu'Ile Provincial Park is 2.4 km from Colborne
For a national park, Thousand Islands National Park is 94 km away. The 10 km around town hold 28 protected areas. OpenStreetMap shows 2 unnamed beaches within 5 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 2.2% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Colborne
Big Apple and 3 more in and around Colborne
Sights in Colborne and close by, ordered by how widely each is known.
AttractionBig Applein town
MuseumMemory Junction Railway Museum3.5 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumProctor House Museum4.1 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumPresqu'Île Provincial Park Museum4.2 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (2)
- Big Apple: Andrew Currie from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Memory Junction Railway Museum: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Famous people from Colborne
5 notable people were born in Colborne.
Photo credits
Charles Smith Rutherford: Unknown author, Public domain · George Albertus Cox: Charles Melville Hays / Library and Archives Canada, Public domain · William Wilson Webb: Notman & Fraser, Public domain
About Colborne
Town in Ontario
For Colborne, TownRatings uses Statistics Canada’s census-subdivision boundary in Ontario, and every figure on its pages covers that whole area.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 7,216 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Ontario
- Census division
- Northumberland
- Census subdivision
- 3514014
Colborne’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colborne | 7,216 | — | C+ | C− | A+ | C |
| Brighton | 12,900 | 12 | C | D | B+ | C |
| Alnwick/Haldimand | 8,197 | 16 | C+ | C | A+ | C |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Colborne
Who are the people of Colborne?
At the 2021 census, 8% were immigrants and 3% belonged to a visible minority (Canadian towns’ median: 15%). 3% identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What kind of homes are in Colborne?
91% 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 2.5 people; 22% are one person living alone.
Has Colborne grown?
Yes: the census counted 6,355 in 2016 and 6,509 in 2021, a rise of 2.4%, against 4.1% for the median of Canadian towns. The 2025 estimate is 7,216.
Is Colborne a young town or an old one?
49.2 is the median age, 45.2 the median among Canadian towns; 23% of residents are 65 or over and 14% under 15.
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).