Photo: Municipal Affairs and Housing · CC BY 2.0Half of Kitchener is under 37.2, younger than 81% of Canadian towns
The share of households in buildings of five or more storeys tops 84% of Canadian towns: 15%. Statistics Canada puts Kitchener’s population at 323,917 for July 2025. Across Kitchener, 30% of residents are immigrants. The city has more visible minority residents than 69% of Canadian towns, at 32%.
Faster growth than 82% of Canadian towns: Kitchener changed by +10% since 2016
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 26%. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 15% in Kitchener, less than in 74% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, against 12% in Kitchener. As a yardstick, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.6 people per household, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Couple families are 52% of households (Canada’s towns 53%) and one-parent families 9.3% (8.2%). For Kitchener, the census puts one-person households at 27%.
A smaller share of common-law partners than 57% of Canadian towns: 9.8%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
30% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
A higher share of renter households than 75% of Canadian towns, at 40%
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 28% date from 2001 or later, 19% from before 1961. For comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. At 48%, the share of households in single-detached houses is lower than in 71% of Canadian towns.
The midpoint household income is $87,000 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, and Kitchener’s, at $87,000, is close to it. The middle household across Ontario’s towns has $91,600 before tax. In 2020, 30% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
13% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a share 77% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
Most immigrants were born in Asia (41%) or in Europe (31%). As a yardstick, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns. Higher than in 71% of Canadian towns: 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. What’s more, of the immigrants living here, 34% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Residents with no religion: 32%, a lower share than 59% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (7.5%), Hindu (3.8%) and Sikh (2.6%). For residents with no religion, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 35%. Lower than in 63% of Canadian towns: 1.9% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
65% have English as their mother tongue; 6.2% 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
18% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 2.3% speak neither official language. Lower than in 71% of Canadian towns: 1% of residents have French as their mother tongue. Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 6.2% of residents speak English and French here.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 34%, a higher share than 62% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 10% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. For comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 59% of residents aged 15 and over
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment here, 59%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
From a median age of 32 in Rosenberg to 46 in Fairfield
The city’s 37 neighbourhoods, youngest first; each links its own page.
Fairfield is the oldest area, with 24% aged 65 or over; Rosenberg the youngest (median age 32). Immigrants are most common in Laurentian West (42% of residents). City Commercial Core has the most renters: 76% of households.
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Kitchener
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchener | 323,917 | — | 37.2 | 15% | 30% |
| Southdale | 5,277 | 0.4 km | 36.9 | 15% | 28% |
| Alpine | 3,055 | 1.2 km | 38.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Mill Courtland Woodside Park | 3,319 | 1.5 km | 36.7 | 11% | 21% |
| Cedar Hill | 3,190 | 1.6 km | 38 | 17% | 26% |
| Laurentian Hills | 10,026 | 1.8 km | 35.8 | 13% | 30% |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside | 5,007 | 1.8 km | 41.6 | 20% | 23% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Ontario’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Kitchener’s residents
What is the average age in Kitchener?
Half the residents are older than 37.2 and half younger; 18% are children under 15 and 15% are 65 or over.
Is Kitchener bilingual?
6.2% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 92% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1%.
How diverse is Kitchener?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 30%. A visible minority makes up 32% and Indigenous residents 1.9%.
What religion are people in Kitchener?
Most often Christian (52%) or no religion (32%); other religions make up 16%.
Is Kitchener good for families?
Children under 15 are 18% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 52% of households and one-parent families 9.3%. Schools near Kitchener are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Kitchener?
Median total household income in Kitchener was $87,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Kitchener?
The latest figure is an estimate: 323,917 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Kitchener counted 256,885, 10% more than 2016.
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).