Photo: DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0More households in buildings of five or more storeys than 85% of Canadian towns: 17%
The typical household size is 2.2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Kingston is home to some 149,527 people (July 2025 estimate), in 57,835 households at the 2021 Census. The census found that 16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. 43% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 74% of Canadian towns.
A +7% change since 2016: Kingston grew faster than 68% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 13% higher again. Across Ontario’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
13% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 81% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Kingston, 14%. On the census count, 21% of residents are 65 or over. Half of the town’s residents are under 41.2, younger than in 55% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Kingston, 41.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women.
One-person households: 33%, a higher share than 72% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 6.8% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 85% of Canadian towns. One-parent families: nearly a tenth of the total. The benchmark for one-person households across Canada’s towns: 27%.
A lower share of married residents 15 and over than 66% of Canadian towns, at 41%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The share of common-law partners is 12%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Against that, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Renter households: 44%, a higher share than 80% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in Kingston comes in at 48%. Older homes outnumber new: 22% predate 1961, 21% date from 2001 or later. The share of renter households across Canada’s towns is 25%.
Median household income: $79,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Kingston’s, at $79,000, is 8% lower. The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 27% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
5.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens, more than in 51% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
Recent arrivals, from 2011 to 2021, are 24% of immigrants (typical: 27%); non-permanent residents add 2.5% of residents. Across Canada’s towns, residents without Canadian citizenship come to 5.8%. Most immigrants were born in Europe (41%) or in Asia (36%).
Above 64% of Canadian towns: 4.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (2.6%). As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. 13% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% across Canada’s towns.
Kingston ranks above 68% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 13%
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
5.5% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.6% speak neither official language. Against that, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, residents whose mother tongue is French are common here: 3.1%, more than in just over two thirds of Canadian towns.
37% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 66% of Canadian towns don’t reach
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
6.2% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
A job for 53% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 53%; 21% of residents are 65 or over.
Ranked by age, 21st oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
At one end is Waterloo (36), at the other Cape Breton (50.4). In age, Kingston keeps company with Sherbrooke (41.2), Maple Ridge (41.2), Coquitlam (41.6) and Kamloops (41.6).
Every neighbour of Kingston has an older population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | 149,527 | — | 41.2 | 21% | 14% |
| Loyalist | 19,761 | 13.4 km | 45.2 | 22% | 8.2% |
| Frontenac Islands | 1,963 | 15.0 km | 59.6 | 37% | 9.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Kingston’s residents
Is Kingston bilingual?
English and French: 13% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 86%. French only: 0.1%. French mother tongue: 3.1%.
How diverse is Kingston?
Immigrants make up 14% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 13% are members of a visible minority, and 4.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Kingston?
Christian: 51%. No religion: 43%. Another religion: 6.4%.
Is Kingston good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 14%. 46% of households are couple families and 8.6% one-parent families. Schools near Kingston are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Kingston?
$79,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Kingston (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Kingston?
Statistics Canada estimates 149,527 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 132,485 in Kingston, 7% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Kingston?
41.2 is the median age, younger than 55% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 14%. 65 and over: 21%.
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).