Photo: Michael Pardo from Niagara, Canada · CC0Older than 86% of Canadian towns: half of Pelham is over 50.4
By its share of renter households (12%), Pelham is below just over four fifths of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 19,980 residents; the 2021 Census found 6,960 households. Locally, 20% of households are one person living alone. This Ontario town has fewer residents with no religion than 66% of Canadian towns, at 30%.
What stands out about the people of Pelham
Older than most towns
Line Pelham’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 50.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Pelham grew +6% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 64% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across Ontario’s towns. The July 2025 estimate adds another 10%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 27% in Pelham, more than in 87% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 8.3% of residents. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Fewer children under 15 than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns: 15%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Pelham, 50.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
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.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 5.7% of households are one-parent families in Pelham.
61% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 96% of Canadian towns don’t reach
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
With common-law partners at 6.8%, Pelham is behind 81% of Canadian towns on that count. Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
83% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 77% 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
With households in buildings of five or more storeys at 1.8%, Pelham is ahead of 64% of Canadian towns on that count. Older homes outnumber new: 24% predate 1961, 23% date from 2001 or later.
Half of households earn more than $110,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Pelham’s, at $110,000, is 28% higher. Within Ontario’s towns, the household in the middle had $91,600. In 2020, 22% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 71% of Canadian towns, at 9.1%
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
Against a figure of 17% across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants in Pelham comes in at 13%. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Here, 2.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
68% said they are Christian and 30% that they have no religion
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 5.5%, below 67% of Canadian towns. The census found that 2.5% of residents have an Indigenous identity in Pelham.
87% have English as their mother tongue; 7.3% also speak French
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
Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 2%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Pelham sits above 69% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (38%)
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
3.2% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
In work on census day: 53% of adults
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 53% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (19,512 to 20,415 people), the 2nd oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Median ages climb from 28.8 (Mitchell) to 57.2 (Niagara-on-the-Lake) across the group. Closest in median age to Pelham are Port Alberni (49.2), Rosedale-Moore Park (49.7) and Niagara-on-the-Lake (57.2).
The towns around Pelham are all younger
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | 19,980 | — | 50.4 | 27% | 13% |
| Welland | 66,480 | 6.6 km | 45.2 | 23% | 12% |
| Thorold | 33,844 | 10.3 km | 37.2 | 16% | 17% |
| Wainfleet | 7,329 | 15.4 km | 47.2 | 21% | 8.1% |
| St. Catharines | 153,865 | 15.6 km | 44.8 | 23% | 20% |
| Beamsville | 28,356 | 17.1 km | 44.4 | 22% | 15% |
| Niagara Falls | 113,983 | 17.3 km | 44.8 | 22% | 23% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Ontario’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- 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 Pelham’s residents
What is the population of Pelham?
Pelham had about 19,980 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 18,192, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Pelham?
A median age of 50.4, older than 86% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 27%.
Is Pelham bilingual?
English and French: 7.3% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 92%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 2%.
How diverse is Pelham?
13% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 5.5% belong to a visible minority and 2.5% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Pelham?
68% are Christian and 30% have no religion; 2.2% follow another religion.
Is Pelham good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 68% of households. One-parent families: 5.7%. Schools near Pelham are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Pelham?
The median household in Pelham took in $110,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).