Photo: Wesoree · CC BY-SA 4.0Thornlea: 61% of residents are immigrants, above 99% of Canadian towns
12% of residents are under 15; across Canada’s towns the figure is 16%. Fewer households in single-detached houses than in 81% of Canadian towns: 35%. The 2021 Census counted 20,872 residents in 8,545 households. Residents with no religion: two fifths of the total.
What stands out about the people of Thornlea
More immigrants than most towns
61% of residents are immigrants, against 26% across Ontario’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (81%) and in Europe (9%); 19% of them arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A mix of backgrounds
71% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 94% of Canadian towns; 61% are immigrants. Identity & religion ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
39% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 94% of Canadian towns; 53% of homes are condominiums. Homes ↓
Many graduates
63% of residents aged 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 16% have a master’s. Qualifications ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 86% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 8.9%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Half of Thornlea’s residents are over 47.8, older than in nearly four fifths of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Thornlea, 47.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
24% of households are one person living alone, below 60% 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.
For Thornlea, the census puts one-parent families at 8.7%. The average household has 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns.
4% of residents 15 and over live common-law, below 94% 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
58% of residents 15 and over are married; across Canada’s towns the figure is 46%. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
39% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 94% 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
36% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 1.9% built before 1961. Few places have so few renter households: 18% here, fewer than in just over two thirds of Canadian towns.
Median gross household income: $96,600 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
At $96,600, the middle household in Thornlea out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 12%. The provincial yardstick is $91,600, the median across Ontario’s towns. Pandemic benefits reached 29% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
15% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a share 83% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 75%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (81%) and in Europe (9%). Typically, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns. 11% lived at another address a year earlier, more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. Most recent wave: nearly a fifth of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%).
71% of residents belong to a visible minority, a share 94% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (10%), Jewish (9.7%) and Buddhist (2.1%). Visible minority residents: 15% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Indigenous residents are rarer here than in 98% of Canadian towns.
Beyond English and French: 66% grew up with another language
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
At home, 42% mostly speak another language; 6.8% speak neither English nor French. Residents whose mother tongue is French are rarer here than in 89% of Canadian towns. Bilingual residents are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 6.9%.
In Thornlea, 63% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 3.5%, against 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 52% 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.
With 27% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 52% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (20,298 to 21,479 people), the 10th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
At one end is Saddle Ridge (32.4), at the other Bridgenorth (52). West Rouge (44.4), Dorval (45.2), Baie-Comeau (48.4) and Rivière-du-Loup (48.4): the towns nearest Thornlea in median age.
4 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Thornlea
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornlea | 20,872 | — | 47.8 | 27% | 61% |
| German Mills | 11,923 | 2.0 km | 48.7 | 26% | 55% |
| Langstaff | 8,147 | 2.3 km | 49.5 | 26% | 49% |
| Steeles Corners | 9,468 | 2.8 km | 40.7 | 16% | 61% |
| Bayview Woods-Steeles | 12,499 | 3.6 km | 51 | 30% | 59% |
| Hillcrest Village | 16,374 | 3.9 km | 49.7 | 29% | 66% |
| Newtonbrook East | 15,996 | 4.0 km | 44 | 23% | 64% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. Two medians frame each figure: one for Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada reports the census by municipality; a neighbourhood’s figures are the sum of its dissemination areas, rounded counts and all, with medians estimated from age and income groups and no 2016 count, as the 2016 areas don’t fit.
Questions about Thornlea’s residents
What religion are people in Thornlea?
40% said they have no religion and 35% that they are Christian; 25% named another faith.
Is Thornlea good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 56% of households and one-parent families 8.7%. Schools near Thornlea are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Thornlea?
Half of Thornlea’s households had more than $96,600 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Thornlea?
Thornlea had 20,872 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in Thornlea?
The median age is 47.8, older than 79% of Canadian towns. 12% are under 15 and 27% 65 or older.
Is Thornlea bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 6.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 86% only English, and French is the first language of 0.6%.
How diverse is Thornlea?
Immigrants: 61% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 71%. Indigenous identity: 0%.
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).