Photo: SimonP at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Younger than 99% of Canadian towns: half of Sandy Hill is under 29.7
Households in buildings of five or more storeys: 46%, above 95% of Canadian towns. At the 2021 Census, 13,830 people lived in Sandy Hill, in 7,435 households. 29% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Residents with no religion are more common here than in 80% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Sandy Hill
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Sandy Hill is 29.7; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 7.7% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A bilingual neighbourhood
Both official languages: 47% of residents speak English and French, more than in 89% of Canadian towns. Another 2.5% speak only French and 50% only English. English & French ↓
A neighbourhood of renters
Renters are 75% of households, more than in 97% of Canadian towns, and 84% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
A neighbourhood people move to
A year before the census, 30% of residents lived elsewhere, 2.8 times the typical share; over five years, 65% moved. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Fewer children under 15 than 98% of Canadian towns: 7.7%
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 13%, against 19% across Canada’s towns. By way of comparison, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Sandy Hill, 29.7. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women.
One-person households: 50%, a higher share than 96% 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: 16% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. Households here average 1.8 people each. Set beside that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. In Sandy Hill, 6.3% of households are one-parent families, beside 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of married residents 15 and over than 98% of Canadian towns: 22%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
57% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. The usual figure: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners account for 12%.
Renter households: 75%, a higher share than 97% 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
Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in Sandy Hill comes in at 6.5%. Older homes outnumber new: 36% predate 1961, 24% date from 2001 or later. Set beside that, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
$62,000 a year: where the middle household sits
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Sandy Hill had $62,000 before tax, 28% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. In 2020, 35% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 99% of Canadian towns, at 30%
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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 recent wave: nearly a third of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across Canada’s towns. For Sandy Hill, the census puts residents without Canadian citizenship at 17%. More immigrants than in 62% of Canadian towns: 24%.
Sandy Hill: 34% of residents belong to a visible minority, above 72% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (9%). The share of visible minority residents across Canada’s towns is 15%. Nothing unusual on Indigenous residents: 2.5%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Sandy Hill: 47% of residents speak English and French, above 89% of Canadian towns
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
10% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.8% speak neither official language. The usual figure: 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, residents whose mother tongue is French are common here: 17%, more than in 77% of Canadian towns.
Sandy Hill sits above 96% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (66%)
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 4.3% (typical 9.5%). On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 57% of residents 15 and over had a job
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment here, 57%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
The 1st youngest of 41 towns of 13,509 to 14,148 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Median ages climb from 29.7 (Sandy Hill) to 53.6 (Montcalm) across the group. In age, Sandy Hill keeps company with River West (30.6) and Skyview Ranch (32.1).
No nearby town is as young as Sandy Hill
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Hill | 13,830 | — | 29.7 | 13% | 24% |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 0.9 km | 39.1 | 21% | 29% |
| Lowertown West | 5,947 | 1.1 km | 40.1 | 18% | 22% |
| Old Ottawa East | 8,308 | 1.5 km | 34.9 | 14% | 20% |
| Vanier South | 7,259 | 1.9 km | 42.9 | 22% | 26% |
| New Edinburgh | 5,728 | 1.9 km | 50.2 | 29% | 23% |
| Centretown | 32,035 | 1.9 km | 34.8 | 13% | 23% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- 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. The figures sum the neighbourhood’s dissemination areas, since the census is published for municipalities only. Medians are estimated from the age and income groups, counts carry Statistics Canada’s rounding, and no 2016 count matches these boundaries.
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
Questions about Sandy Hill’s residents
Is Sandy Hill good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 7.7%. 26% of households are couple families and 6.3% one-parent families. Schools near Sandy Hill are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sandy Hill?
$62,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Sandy Hill (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Sandy Hill?
The 2021 Census counted 13,830 people in Sandy Hill.
What is the average age in Sandy Hill?
29.7 is the median age, younger than 99% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 7.7%. 65 and over: 13%.
Is Sandy Hill bilingual?
English and French: 47% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 50%. French only: 2.5%. French mother tongue: 17%.
How diverse is Sandy Hill?
Immigrants make up 24% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 34% are members of a visible minority, and 2.5% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Sandy Hill?
Christian: 40%. No religion: 46%. Another religion: 14%.
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).