Photo: Óðinn · CC BY-SA 2.5 caA median age of 34.8: Centretown is younger than 91% of Canadian towns
At 1.5 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Lower than in 96% of Canadian towns: 2.8% of households live in a single-detached house. The 2021 Census put Centretown’s population at 32,035, in 20,415 households. Residents with no religion account for 50%.
What stands out about the people of Centretown
A neighbourhood of renters
75% of households rent their home, more than in 97% of Canadian towns; 92% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Many people living alone
61% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 13% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
Buildings of five storeys or more hold 67% of households, more than in 98% of Canadian towns, and 31% of homes are condos. Homes ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Centretown is 34.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 5.9% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Children under 15 make up 5.9% in Centretown, less than in 99% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Where 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, Centretown has 13%. Among Ontario’s towns, Northern Bruce Peninsula has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 41%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Centretown, 34.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
In Centretown, 61% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% 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.
Shared houses stand out: 7.7% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 90% of Canadian towns. One-parent families: 3.5% of the total. Measured more widely, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
In Centretown, 21% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 98% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law; in Centretown, 18%. Single and never married: 49% of adults, against a typical 27%.
Centretown: 67% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, above 98% 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
A quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, against 75% in Centretown. Older homes outnumber new: 28% predate 1961, 24% date from 2001 or later.
The middle household earns $72,900 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Centretown: half had less than $72,900, 15% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Ontario’s towns, half of households had more than $91,600 before tax. COVID-19 benefits went to 25% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
A larger share of residents who moved in within the year than 97% of Canadian towns: 27%
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Set against 5.8% across Canada’s towns, 10% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Centretown. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (40%) and in Europe (27%). Nearly a quarter of residents are immigrants, more than in 61% of Canadian towns.
A larger share of visible minority residents than 64% of Canadian towns: 27%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (5.8%). Across the comparison, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Nothing unusual on Indigenous residents: 2.8%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
41% of residents speak English and French, a share 86% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
The share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 11%, against 1.5% across Canada’s towns. At home: English 79%, French 6.4%. The comparison figure for bilingual residents is 7.5% across Canada’s towns.
66% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 97% of Canadian towns don’t reach
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 3.7% (typical 9.5%). Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 68% of adults
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 68%.
Ranked by age, 2nd youngest of 41 towns this size
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
They run from DT Core, at 34.8, to Magog, at 54.4. Closest in median age to Centretown are DT Core (34.8), St Lawrence-East Bayfront-The Islands (35.1) and Sainte-Marie (35.1).
Centretown is younger than 5 of its 6 nearest neighbours
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centretown | 32,035 | — | 34.8 | 13% | 23% |
| West Centretown | 8,560 | 1.2 km | 36.6 | 16% | 25% |
| Glebe-Dows Lake | 13,436 | 1.4 km | 42.1 | 22% | 17% |
| Old Ottawa East | 8,308 | 1.6 km | 34.9 | 14% | 20% |
| Lowertown West | 5,947 | 1.9 km | 40.1 | 18% | 22% |
| Sandy Hill | 13,830 | 1.9 km | 29.7 | 13% | 24% |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 2.4 km | 39.1 | 21% | 29% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
- 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. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
Questions about Centretown’s residents
What is the median income in Centretown?
The median household in Centretown took in $72,900 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Centretown?
The 2021 Census counted 32,035 people in Centretown.
What is the average age in Centretown?
A median age of 34.8, younger than 91% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 5.9%, and people 65 and over 13%.
Is Centretown bilingual?
English and French: 41% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 57%. French only: 0.9%. French mother tongue: 11%.
How diverse is Centretown?
23% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 27% belong to a visible minority and 2.8% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Centretown?
38% are Christian and 50% have no religion; 12% follow another religion.
Is Centretown good for families?
Under 15: 5.9% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 27% of households. One-parent families: 3.5%. Schools near Centretown are on its Schools page.
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).