Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Only 7.4% of households rent their home in Highway Valley
Across Canada’s towns, 35% of residents said they have no religion; in Highway Valley, 20%. The 2021 Census counted 4,469 residents in 1,635 households. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 5.5%. With a median age of 49.2, Highway Valley is older than 83% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Highway Valley
Many older residents
27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 87% of Canadian towns; 6.6% are 80 or over, and 18% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
27% of residents are 65 or over, a share 87% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The largest age band is 60–64: nearly one in ten residents. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. 15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%).
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Highway Valley, 49.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
A lower share of one-person households than 83% of Canadian towns, at 18%
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
A household here has 2.7 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. 8.9% of households are one-parent families. Measured more widely, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
5.4% of residents 15 and over live common-law, below 89% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: nearly a quarter of adults (typical: 27%). On average, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
In Highway Valley, 89% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 88% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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: 10% predate 1961, 1.8% date from 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. On average, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Median household income: $109,900 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Highway Valley’s households had a total income above $109,900, 28% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Ontario’s towns has $91,600 before tax. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 24% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
30% of residents are immigrants, more than in 72% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
1.6% of residents are not Canadian citizens (Canada’s towns: 5.8%). As a reference point, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (81%), then in Asia (9%).
74% said they are Christian and 20% that they have no religion
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Sikh (2.5%). 0.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity, fewer than in 94% of Canadian towns. Visible minority residents: 8.4% here and 15% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 61%, and 3% speak French as well
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
17% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 2.4% speak neither official language. On bilingual residents, Highway Valley sits lower than 94% of Canadian towns: 3%. Add to that, with residents whose mother tongue is French at 0.3%, Highway Valley is behind 97% of Canadian towns on that count.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 56% of Canadian towns, at 24%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 7.3% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 44% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 44%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (4,388 to 4,547 people), the 7th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Beresford is the oldest at 54.4, Glenridding Heights the youngest at 31.9. Closest in median age to Highway Valley are Geraldton (47.2), Queenswood - Chatelaine (47.4), Bowen Island (50) and Electoral Area P (Rivers and the Peaks), Thompson-Nicola (50.4).
Around Highway Valley, 1 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highway Valley | 4,469 | — | 49.2 | 27% | 30% |
| Poplar Park | 3,031 | 1.4 km | 50.3 | 31% | 34% |
| Guernsey | 3,808 | 1.4 km | 43 | 19% | 36% |
| Westmeria | 2,646 | 1.5 km | 42.4 | 17% | 35% |
| Fruitland | 7,653 | 1.6 km | 40.2 | 18% | 34% |
| Eastdale | 2,703 | 2.1 km | 44.2 | 22% | 34% |
| Riverdale East | 3,416 | 2.5 km | 43.2 | 22% | 42% |
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. 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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada publishes the census for municipalities, not neighbourhoods, so these figures add up the dissemination areas inside the neighbourhood. Counts are sums of StatCan’s rounded counts; the median age and income are worked out from the published age and income groups; and 2016 areas don’t add up to these, so there is no 2016 count.
- 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 Highway Valley’s residents
How diverse is Highway Valley?
30% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 8.4% belong to a visible minority and 0.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Highway Valley?
74% are Christian and 20% have no religion; 6.3% follow another religion.
Is Highway Valley good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 64% of households. One-parent families: 8.9%. Schools near Highway Valley are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Highway Valley?
The median household in Highway Valley took in $109,900 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Highway Valley?
Highway Valley had 4,469 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in Highway Valley?
A median age of 49.2, older than 83% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 27%.
Is Highway Valley bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 94% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.3% grew up with French.
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).