Photo: Hozombel at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Milton sits above 96% of Canadian towns for children under 15 (24%)
One-person households make up 13%, against 27% across Canada’s towns. About 157,345 people lived in Milton in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Across Milton, 55% of residents belong to a visible minority. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are more common here than in 73% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Milton
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Milton went from 110,128 to 132,979 residents (+21%), faster growth than in 97% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
More immigrants than most towns
Immigrants make up 42% of residents; the medians are 26% across Ontario’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (63%), then in Europe (15%), and 32% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Milton is 36; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are under 15 and 9.9% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A +21% change since 2016: faster than 97% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Ontario’s towns +6%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 18% higher again.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 92% of Canadian towns: 9.9%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
With a median age of 36, Milton is younger than 87% of Canadian towns. Set beside that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. No age band is larger than 40–44: nearly one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Milton, 36. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Larger households than 96% of Canadian towns: 3.3 people on average
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.
In Milton, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families.
Only 5.7% of residents 15 and over live common-law in Milton
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 26% of adults (typical: 27%). The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%. Here, 59% of residents 15 and over are married.
A smaller share of renter households than 68% of Canadian towns: 17%
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
Here 57% of households live in a single-detached house, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 64%. Across Canada’s towns, renter households come to 25%. Newer homes outnumber old: 73% date from 2001 or later, 5.4% from before 1961.
Household income at the median: $126,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Milton’s median household took in $126,000 before tax, 47% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Ontario’s towns has $91,600 before tax. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 31% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Milton ranks above 87% of Canadian towns on immigrants: 42%
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 50%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Set against 5.8% across Canada’s towns, 12% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Milton. The wider picture: 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (63%), then in Europe (15%).
Residents with no religion: 19%, a lower share than 88% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Where 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns, Milton has 0.7%. Among other religions: Muslim (23%), Hindu (6.1%) and Sikh (2.4%). Measured more widely, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 56%, and 7.8% 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, 20% mostly speak another language; 1.8% speak neither English nor French. On residents whose mother tongue is French, Milton sits lower than 67% of Canadian towns: 1.1%.
Milton ranks above 85% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 50%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 4.8%, against 9.5%. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 63% of residents 15 and over had a job
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.
At 63%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 103,888 to 239,584 people, the 2nd youngest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages here range from 36 in Waterloo to 50.4 in Cape Breton. The closest ages to Milton’s belong to Waterloo (36), Lethbridge (38) and Guelph (38.4).
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Milton
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | 157,345 | — | 36 | 9.9% | 42% |
| Lisgar | 31,627 | 10.4 km | 39.3 | 11% | 52% |
| Churchill Meadows | 48,872 | 11.7 km | 35.9 | 9.2% | 65% |
| Meadowvale | 37,821 | 12.3 km | 40.9 | 16% | 44% |
| Central Erin Mills | 36,393 | 13.7 km | 41.2 | 16% | 59% |
| Oakville | 243,107 | 13.9 km | 41.6 | 16% | 41% |
| Erin Mills | 39,194 | 14.8 km | 44.7 | 22% | 45% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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.
Questions about Milton’s residents
What religion are people in Milton?
Most often Christian (48%) or no religion (19%); other religions make up 33%.
Is Milton good for families?
Children under 15 are 24% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 66% of households and one-parent families 8.1%. Schools near Milton are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Milton?
Median total household income in Milton was $126,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Milton?
The latest figure is an estimate: 157,345 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Milton counted 132,979, 21% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Milton?
Half the residents are older than 36 and half younger, younger than 87% of Canadian towns; 24% are children under 15 and 9.9% are 65 or over.
Is Milton bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 7.8% are. Another 0.1% speak only French and 90% only English, and French is the first language of 1.1%.
How diverse is Milton?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 42%. A visible minority makes up 55% and Indigenous residents 0.7%.
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).