Photo: Tabercil · CC BY 3.0Durham is older than 84% of Canadian towns: a median age of 49.6
Recent arrivals are one in ten immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Meanwhile, more households in single-detached houses than in 85% of Canadian towns: 88%. The 2021 Census found 5,280 households in Durham; by July 2025 the population was about 14,355. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 25%. Every figure here is for West Grey as a whole, the municipality Durham belongs to.
Durham grew +5% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 55% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 9% higher again.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 72% of Canadian towns, at 9.6%
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 Durham, 16% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Durham, 49.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
24% of households are one person living alone, below 62% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Compared with 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 5.8% of households are one-parent families here. Typically, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. Average household size: 2.5 people.
In Durham, 54% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 76% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up just over a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. By way of comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Census figures put common-law partners at 11% in Durham.
Durham sits below 78% of Canadian towns for renter households (14%)
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 comparison figure for renter households is 25% across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 38% predate 1961, 18% date from 2001 or later.
Median household income: $77,500 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
At $77,500, the middle household in Durham earned 10% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Ontario’s towns, half of households had more than $91,600 before tax. The pandemic’s benefits: 23% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Only 7.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Durham
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
In Durham, 7.8% of residents are immigrants, beside 17% across Canada’s towns. What’s more, on residents without Canadian citizenship, Durham sits lower than three quarters of Canadian towns: 2%. As a reference point, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (67%), then in the Americas (26%).
More residents with no religion than 62% of Canadian towns: 39%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
2.4% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% across Canada’s towns. The share of residents with no religion across Canada’s towns is 35%. Locally, 2.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
English is the mother tongue of 92%, and 4% 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
The share of bilingual residents trails 86% of Canadian towns: 4%. In Durham, 0.7% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 84% of Canadian towns: 15%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
55% of adults were employed in May 2021
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.
The employment rate of 55% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% of residents are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 14,105 to 14,615 people, the 6th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
La Crète is the youngest of them at 23.4; Pointe-de-Sainte-Foy, at 57, the oldest. The closest ages to Durham’s belong to Mont-Laurier (48.8), Grand Falls-Windsor (49.2), South Glengarry (50.4) and Matane (52.4).
Every nearby town is younger than Durham
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. No closer places have figures: these lie 15–29 km from Durham.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | 14,355 | — | 49.6 | 25% | 7.8% |
| Hanover | 8,723 | 14.7 km | 49.2 | 30% | 6.2% |
| Chatsworth | 7,770 | 24.1 km | 46 | 22% | 7.1% |
| Walkerton | 10,811 | 24.3 km | 44.8 | 23% | 4.1% |
| Dundalk | 11,599 | 27.0 km | 36 | 15% | 12% |
| Mildmay | 6,247 | 29.3 km | 41.2 | 20% | 2.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- 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 Durham’s residents
Is Durham bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 96% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.7% grew up with French.
How diverse is Durham?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 7.8%. A visible minority makes up 2.4% and Indigenous residents 2.2%.
What religion are people in Durham?
Most often Christian (60%) or no religion (39%); other religions make up 1.1%.
Is Durham good for families?
Children under 15 are 16% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 62% of households and one-parent families 5.8%. Schools near Durham are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Durham?
Median total household income in Durham was $77,500 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Durham?
The latest figure is an estimate: 14,355 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Durham counted 13,131, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Durham?
Half the residents are older than 49.6 and half younger, older than 84% of Canadian towns; 16% are children under 15 and 25% are 65 or over.
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).