Photo: Rick Cordeiro · Public domainIn Central, 72% of households rent their home, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
17% of residents are not Canadian citizens, against 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 10% of residents are under 15. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 44% here, more than in three quarters of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census counted 3,698 residents in 1,745 households.
What stands out about the people of Central
A neighbourhood of renters
Renters are 72% of households, more than in 96% of Canadian towns, and 69% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
Buildings of five storeys or more hold 48% of households, more than in 95% of Canadian towns, and 8.6% of homes are condos. Homes ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 46%, more than in 94% of Canadian towns, and 18% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Half of Central is under 39.3, younger than 68% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 25–29: 12% of residents, 2 times the share across Canada’s towns. 9.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Here 18% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 19%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Central, 39.3. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
One-person households: 46%, a higher share than 94% of Canadian towns
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.
A household here has 1.9 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. On the census count, 7.7% of households are one-parent families. Shared houses stand out: 8.9% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 94% of Canadian towns. Typically, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Only 29% of residents 15 and over are married in Central
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
37% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Higher than in 74% of Canadian towns: 14% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
48% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, a share 95% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
One in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. In Central, 14% of households live in a single-detached house.
Household income at the median: $56,300 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Central had $56,300 before tax, 35% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. In 2020, 36% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 75% 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
Against a figure of 17% across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants in Central comes in at 27%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (43%), then in Europe (26%).
More visible minority residents than 70% of Canadian towns: 32%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
In Central, 4.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity, beside 2.8% across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Other faiths: Muslim (5.2%), Buddhist (4.9%) and Hindu (2.3%).
English is the mother tongue of 62%, and 6.3% speak French as well
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
At home: English 74%, French 0.4%. Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 6.3% of residents speak English and French here.
Central: 33% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 61% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 16%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 58%
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.
Employment here, 58%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
In its size band (3,648 to 3,749), the 11th youngest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
West Kildonan Industrial is the youngest of them at 31.5; Piedmont, at 58, the oldest. In age, Central keeps company with Saint-Michel (39.2), North Glenora (39.3), Ascot Corner (40) and Radisson (40.2).
Central and its 6 nearest towns: 2 of them are older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | 3,698 | — | 39.3 | 18% | 27% |
| Strathcona | 9,348 | 1.0 km | 40.2 | 20% | 30% |
| North End East | 4,816 | 1.2 km | 39.5 | 17% | 27% |
| Durand | 13,338 | 1.2 km | 39 | 20% | 27% |
| Beasley | 6,338 | 1.2 km | 34.2 | 13% | 35% |
| Corktown | 8,952 | 1.6 km | 34.6 | 12% | 33% |
| Kirkendall North | 5,864 | 1.7 km | 38 | 16% | 13% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. There is no census profile for a neighbourhood, so we add up the dissemination areas inside it. Each count is a sum of Statistics Canada’s rounded counts, the median age and income come from the published groups, and with 2016’s areas drawn differently there is no 2016 count.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- 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.
Questions about Central’s residents
Is Central good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 10%. 32% of households are couple families and 7.7% one-parent families. Schools near Central are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Central?
$56,300 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Central (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Central?
3,698, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for Central alone.
What is the average age in Central?
39.3 is the median age, younger than 68% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 10%. 65 and over: 18%.
Is Central bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 6.3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 86% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.7% grew up with French.
How diverse is Central?
Immigrants make up 27% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 32% are members of a visible minority, and 4.8% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Central?
Christian: 42%. No religion: 44%. Another religion: 15%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).