Photo: Andrea_44 from Leamington, Ontario , Canada · CC BY 2.0Essex is older than 76% of Canadian towns: a median age of 46.8
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over (Canada’s towns: 19%). Households in single-detached houses account for 85%. Residents who moved in within the year are rarer here than in 72% of Canadian towns. With about 23,872 residents in July 2025, Essex counted 8,390 households at the 2021 Census.
A change of +4% since 2016 leaves Essex behind 51% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 13% higher again.
Children under 15 make up 15% in Essex, less than in 58% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8.7% of residents. Measured more widely, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Essex, 46.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 58% of Canadian towns: 2.5 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Essex, 26% of households are one person living alone. 8.4% of households are one-parent families, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of married residents 15 and over than 64% of Canadian towns: 51%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The share of common-law partners is 9.6%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. On average, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Renter households: 15%, a lower share than 76% of Canadian towns
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
On households in buildings of five or more storeys, 0.7% here is much the same as across Canada’s towns. Measured more widely, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $87,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Essex’s households had a total income above $87,000 and half below, close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $91,600 is the median household income across Ontario’s towns. 27% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
8.7% 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
In Essex, 1.7% of residents are not Canadian citizens, beside 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants are rarer here than in 68% of Canadian towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (55%) and in the Americas (26%).
Essex ranks above 67% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 4.5%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 69% of Canadian towns: 4.6%. For Essex, the census puts residents with no religion at 33%. The wider picture: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 6.9% also speak French
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
At home: English 97%, French 0.3%. Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 1.7%.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 17% in Essex, less than in 75% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 8.2% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
An employment rate of 53%
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
53% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 22% are 65 or more.
Among 41 towns of 22,821 to 24,972 people, the 8th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The youngest is Fort St. John (32.4) and the oldest Brockville (51.6). Nearest to Essex in age: Mount Pearl (46), Milliken (46.8), Oro-Medonte (47.6) and Owen Sound (48).
The towns around Essex are all younger
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | 23,872 | — | 46.8 | 22% | 8.7% |
| Kingsville | 25,302 | 13.4 km | 45.2 | 23% | 13% |
| Amherstburg | 27,509 | 16.4 km | 45.6 | 21% | 10% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- 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. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Essex’s residents
What religion are people in Essex?
Christian: 66%. No religion: 33%. Another religion: 1.6%.
Is Essex good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 58% of households are couple families and 8.4% one-parent families. Schools near Essex are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Essex?
$87,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Essex (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Essex?
Statistics Canada estimates 23,872 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 21,216 in Essex, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Essex?
46.8 is the median age, older than 76% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 22%.
Is Essex bilingual?
6.9% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 93% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.7%.
How diverse is Essex?
Immigrants make up 8.7% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 4.6% are members of a visible minority, and 4.5% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
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).