Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainCornwall sits above 82% of Canadian towns for renter households (46%)
In Cornwall, a quarter of residents are 65 or over, beside 19% across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 36%, more than in four fifths of Canadian towns. About 54,346 people lived here in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Residents with no religion: 27% of the total.
A +3% change since 2016: slower than 59% of Canadian towns
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
Across Ontario’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 14%.
Older than 74% of Canadian towns: half of Cornwall is over 46.4
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Cornwall, 10%. More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 7.9% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Cornwall, 46.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A larger share of one-parent families than 86% of Canadian towns: 11%
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The benchmark for one-parent families across Canada’s towns: 8.2%.
39% of residents 15 and over are married, below 70% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 28% of adults, against a typical 27%. Typically, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 13% of the total.
In Cornwall, 5.4% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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: 37% predate 1961, 10% date from 2001 or later. On households in single-detached houses, Cornwall sits lower than 69% of Canadian towns: 49%.
The median household brings in $60,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Cornwall had $60,000 before tax, 30% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 26% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
In Cornwall, 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 59% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Most immigrants were born in Asia (46%) or in Europe (29%). Typically, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Lower than in 69% of Canadian towns: 8.4% of residents are immigrants. Compared with 5.8% across Canada’s towns, 3.5% of residents are not Canadian citizens here.
A higher share of Indigenous residents than 73% of Canadian towns, at 5.6%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents is 9.9%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. Other faiths: Muslim (3.7%).
38% of residents speak English and French, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Nearly a fifth of residents have French as their mother tongue, against 1.5% across Canada’s towns. The comparison figure for bilingual residents is 7.5% across Canada’s towns.
Cornwall ranks below 87% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 13%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 16% here, 9.5% in the typical town. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
46% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 46%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 25% of residents are 65 or over.
In its size band (45,569 to 63,957), the 7th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest of these towns is Whalley, at 34.9; the oldest, Shawinigan, is at 54.4. By median age, Cornwall sits among Rocky View County (45.6), Saint-Hyacinthe (46.4), Rimouski (47.2) and Victoriaville (47.2).
The towns around Cornwall are all older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall | 54,346 | — | 46.4 | 25% | 8.4% |
| Akwesasne (Part) 59 | 1,947 | 2.6 km | — | — | — |
| Akwesasne | 2,562 | 14.1 km | — | — | — |
| South Glengarry | 14,355 | 14.8 km | 50.4 | 25% | 7.6% |
| Long Sault | 14,602 | 15.7 km | 48 | 23% | 4.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Provincial and national yardsticks: Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Cornwall’s residents
What is the population of Cornwall?
Cornwall had about 54,346 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 47,845, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Cornwall?
A median age of 46.4, older than 74% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 16%, and people 65 and over 25%.
Is Cornwall bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 38% are. Another 0.8% speak only French and 61% only English, and French is the first language of 19%.
How diverse is Cornwall?
8.4% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 9.9% belong to a visible minority and 5.6% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Cornwall?
66% are Christian and 27% have no religion; 6.9% follow another religion.
Is Cornwall good for families?
Under 15: 16% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 44% of households. One-parent families: 11%. Schools near Cornwall are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cornwall?
The median household in Cornwall took in $60,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).