Photo: Laslovarga · CC BY-SA 3.0Only 16% of households are one person living alone in Waterdown
With a median age of 37.4, Waterdown is younger than four fifths of Canadian towns. Locally, just over a fifth of residents are under 15. There were 8,240 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 23,858 people. The share of households in buildings of five or more storeys tops 75% of Canadian towns: 6.4%.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 86% of Canadian towns: 12%
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The biggest five-year age group is 35–39, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. For Waterdown, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 12%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Waterdown, 37.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
Waterdown households average 2.9 people, larger than in 85% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Census figures put one-parent families at 8.8% in Waterdown.
More married residents 15 and over than 84% of Canadian towns: 56%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up a quarter of adults, beside a typical 27%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. The share of common-law partners stands at 8.5%.
16% of households rent their home, below 72% 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
Just over two in five homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 9.6% built before 1961. Renter households make up 25% across Canada’s towns. The share of households in single-detached houses is 61%, against 64% across Canada’s towns.
Half of households earn more than $135,500 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
Waterdown’s median household took in $135,500 before tax, 58% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $91,600 is the median household income across Ontario’s towns. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 26% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
More immigrants than 57% of Canadian towns: 21%
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
Just over a fifth of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Asia (41%) or in Europe (37%). A year before the census, 12% lived somewhere else: more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns.
Waterdown sits above 55% of Canadian towns for visible minority residents (19%)
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
33% of residents said they have no religion, against 35% across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents are rarer here than in 77% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Other faiths: Muslim (4.8%) and Hindu (2.2%).
English is the mother tongue of 79%, and 7% 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
At home: English 89%, French 0.1%. Residents whose mother tongue is French are rarer here than in 77% of Canadian towns.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 77% of Canadian towns: 44%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 3.8% here, 9.5% in the typical town. To put it in context, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 68%
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
68% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
Among 41 towns of 22,820 to 24,920 people, the 10th youngest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The span goes from 32.4 (Fort St. John) up to 51.6 (Brockville). By median age, Waterdown sits among Old Barrhaven East (37.4), Outremont (37.4), Junction-Wallace Emerson (37.8) and Cartierville (39.4).
No nearby town is as young as Waterdown
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterdown | 23,858 | — | 37.4 | 12% | 21% |
| York Road | 4,931 | 7.1 km | 45.9 | 22% | 17% |
| Burlington | 197,737 | 7.9 km | 44.4 | 21% | 26% |
| North End East | 4,816 | 8.0 km | 39.5 | 17% | 27% |
| Colborne | 7,447 | 8.0 km | 47.3 | 20% | 15% |
| Strathcona | 9,348 | 8.1 km | 40.2 | 20% | 30% |
| Central | 3,698 | 8.2 km | 39.3 | 18% | 27% |
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. For each measure we take the median of Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Waterdown’s residents
What is the median income in Waterdown?
The median household in Waterdown took in $135,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Waterdown?
The 2021 Census counted 23,858 people in Waterdown.
What is the average age in Waterdown?
A median age of 37.4, younger than 80% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 21%, and people 65 and over 12%.
Is Waterdown bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 7% are. Another 0% speak only French and 92% only English, and French is the first language of 0.9%.
How diverse is Waterdown?
21% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 19% belong to a visible minority and 1.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Waterdown?
57% are Christian and 33% have no religion; 10% follow another religion.
Is Waterdown good for families?
Under 15: 21% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 66% of households. One-parent families: 8.8%. Schools near Waterdown are on its Schools page.
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).