Photo: Municipal Affairs and Housing · CC BY 2.0More immigrants than 86% of Canadian towns: 41%
In Oakville the average household is 2.9 people, beside 2.4 across Canada’s towns. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 89% of Canadian towns: 14%. With about 243,107 residents in July 2025, Oakville counted 73,560 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 43% of residents belong to a visible minority.
What stands out about the people of Oakville
More immigrants than most towns
Immigrants make up 41% of residents; the medians are 26% across Ontario’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (53%) and in Europe (26%), and 33% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Many graduates
A bachelor’s degree or higher is held by 61% of 25- to 64-year-olds, more than in 94% of Canadian towns, and a master’s by 17%. Qualifications ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A +10% change since 2016: faster than 82% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 14%.
Below 68% of Canadian towns: 16% of residents are 65 or over
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
With children under 15 at 18%, Oakville is ahead of 71% of Canadian towns on that count. Still, the median age locally is 41.6, lower than in 53% of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Oakville, 41.6. 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.
In Oakville, 18% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 82% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 8.9%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households is 27%.
A lower share of common-law partners than 92% of Canadian towns, at 4.5%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 27% of adults, against a typical 27%. For Oakville, the census puts married residents 15 and over at 57%. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Households in buildings of five or more storeys make up 12% in Oakville, more than in 81% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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: 38% date from 2001 or later, 8.1% from before 1961. Single-detached houses hold 59% of households, less than in 57% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 12%. The figure for renter households is 23% in Oakville and 25% across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $128,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Oakville’s median household took in $128,000 before tax, 49% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 27% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Oakville: 14% of residents are not Canadian citizens, above 81% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Oakville, 12%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (53%) and in Europe (26%). Elsewhere, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns.
Residents with no religion make up 28% in Oakville, less than in 70% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
0.7% of residents have an Indigenous identity (Canada’s towns: 2.8%). Residents with no religion: 35% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Other faiths: Muslim (10%) and Hindu (4.5%).
Bilingual residents: 11%, a higher share than 64% of Canadian towns
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 74%, French 0.6%. The benchmark for bilingual residents across Canada’s towns: 7.5%. Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 1.4%.
Oakville: 61% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 94% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Oakville, 61%, and 20% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 2.9%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
58% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
58% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
19th highest median age among 41 towns of 105,520 to 243,107
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages here range from 36 in Milton to 50.4 in Cape Breton. The closest ages to Oakville’s belong to Coquitlam (41.6), Kamloops (41.6), St. John's (42) and Kelowna (42.4).
Nearby, 3 of 6 towns have older populations than Oakville
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakville | 243,107 | — | 41.6 | 16% | 41% |
| Erin Mills | 39,194 | 9.1 km | 44.7 | 22% | 45% |
| Sheridan | 15,775 | 9.5 km | 42.7 | 20% | 43% |
| South Common | 4,867 | 9.6 km | 39.8 | 21% | 54% |
| Clarkson - Lorne Park | 39,523 | 10.2 km | 43.9 | 19% | 36% |
| Churchill Meadows | 48,872 | 10.8 km | 35.9 | 9.2% | 65% |
| Central Erin Mills | 36,393 | 11.6 km | 41.2 | 16% | 59% |
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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about Oakville’s residents
Is Oakville bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 11% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 87% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 1.4% grew up with French.
How diverse is Oakville?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 41%. A visible minority makes up 43% and Indigenous residents 0.7%.
What religion are people in Oakville?
Most often Christian (53%) or no religion (28%); other religions make up 19%.
Is Oakville good for families?
Children under 15 are 18% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 63% of households and one-parent families 8.9%. Schools near Oakville are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Oakville?
Median total household income in Oakville was $128,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Oakville?
The latest figure is an estimate: 243,107 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Oakville counted 213,759, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Oakville?
Half the residents are older than 41.6 and half younger, younger than 53% of Canadian towns; 18% are children under 15 and 16% are 65 or over.
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).