Photo: Balcer · CC BY 2.5Palmerston ranks above 80% of Canadian towns on children under 15: 19%
Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%; Palmerston has 79%. In Palmerston, 7% of residents are immigrants. Higher than in 63% of Canadian towns: 21% of residents are 65 or over. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 10,029 residents; the 2021 Census found 3,415 households. Every figure here is for Minto as a whole, the municipality Palmerston belongs to.
Since 2016, Palmerston has grown +5%, faster than 55% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 10% higher again. Across Ontario’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
Younger than 58% of Canadian towns: half of Palmerston is under 40.8
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Against a figure of 11% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Palmerston comes in at 12%. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Palmerston, 40.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 67% of Canadian towns: 2.6 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone; in Palmerston, 25%. Locally, 6.6% of households are one-parent families.
Palmerston ranks above 71% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 53%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a quarter of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. For comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 9.8% of the total.
24% of households rent their home, fewer than in 53% of Canadian towns
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
Older homes outnumber new: 40% predate 1961, 21% date from 2001 or later. Typically, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. At 0.1%, the share of households in buildings of five or more storeys is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
Household income, middle of the range: $84,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000, and Palmerston’s, at $84,000, is close to it. The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. 22% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 58% of Canadian towns: 10%
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 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The figure for residents without Canadian citizenship is 2.6% in Palmerston and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. As a yardstick, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Fewer residents with no religion than 54% of Canadian towns: 34%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 70% of Canadian towns: 4.4%. For residents with no religion, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 35%. Across Palmerston, 2.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
86% have English as their mother tongue; 3.9% also speak French
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
0.6% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns. At home, 7.2% mostly speak another language; 1.3% speak neither English nor French. Lower than in 87% of Canadian towns: 3.9% of residents speak English and French.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 9.8%, a lower share than 96% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 21% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
An employment rate of 62%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 62% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Youngest by rank: 19th of 41 towns of 9,886 to 10,185 people
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The group spans Stanley, youngest at 25.6, to Blind Bay, oldest at 58.8. The towns whose median age is nearest to Palmerston’s: Caledonia-Fairbank (40.6), Penbrooke Meadows (40.8), Du Parc (41.2) and Runnymede-Bloor West Village (41.7).
Older than Palmerston: 2 of the 5 towns nearby
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. The nearest places to Palmerston with figures are 19–30 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmerston | 10,029 | — | 40.8 | 21% | 7% |
| Howick | 4,517 | 18.6 km | 35.2 | 16% | 4.7% |
| Mount Forest | 14,407 | 20.2 km | 42 | 22% | 6% |
| Listowel | 18,168 | 22.1 km | 37.6 | 19% | 11% |
| Drayton | 11,518 | 24.0 km | 32 | 12% | 7.5% |
| Durham | 14,355 | 29.5 km | 49.6 | 25% | 7.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. “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.
Questions about Palmerston’s residents
What is the median income in Palmerston?
Median total household income in Palmerston was $84,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Palmerston?
The latest figure is an estimate: 10,029 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Palmerston counted 9,094, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Palmerston?
Half the residents are older than 40.8 and half younger, younger than 58% of Canadian towns; 19% are children under 15 and 21% are 65 or over.
Is Palmerston bilingual?
3.9% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 95% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.6%.
How diverse is Palmerston?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 7%. A visible minority makes up 4.4% and Indigenous residents 2.2%.
What religion are people in Palmerston?
Most often Christian (64%) or no religion (34%); other religions make up 2.7%.
Is Palmerston good for families?
Children under 15 are 19% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 60% of households and one-parent families 6.6%. Schools near Palmerston are on its Schools page.
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).