Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Perth is older than 98% of Canadian towns: a median age of 58.4
Children under 15 make up 11%, against 16% across Canada’s towns. By contrast, 44% of households rent their home, more than in 80% of Canadian towns. With about 6,972 residents in July 2025, Perth counted 3,275 households at the 2021 Census. Residents who moved in within the year: 14% of the total.
What stands out about the people of Perth
Older than most towns
Line Perth’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 58.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 39% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 43%, more than in 92% of Canadian towns, and 39% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Perth grew +9% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 77% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across Ontario’s towns. The July 2025 estimate adds another 8%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 39% in Perth, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Perth has 7.4%. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Perth, 58.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 81 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
43% of households are one person living alone, a share 92% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
With one-parent families at 9.5%, Perth is ahead of 69% of Canadian towns on that count. Across Canada’s towns, one-person households come to 27%. There are 1.9 people in the average household.
A lower share of married residents 15 and over than 66% of Canadian towns, at 41%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
9.7% of residents 15 and over live common-law; across Canada’s towns the figure is 11%.
Households in single-detached houses: 51%, a lower share than 67% 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 2.3%, Perth is ahead of 66% of Canadian towns on that count. Households in single-detached houses: 64% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. 41% of homes were built before 1961 and 15% in 2001 or later.
Half of households earn more than $63,200 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Perth’s households had a total income below $63,200, 27% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Ontario’s towns, the typical figure is $91,600. 20% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
6.6% of residents are immigrants
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
Compared with 17% across Canada’s towns, 6.6% of residents are immigrants here. What’s more, 14% lived at another address a year earlier, more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 1.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
Residents with no religion make up 39% in Perth, more than in 62% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
2.5% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 4.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity. Across Canada’s towns, residents with no religion come to 35%.
Bilingual residents: 11%, a higher share than 63% 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
At home: English 98%, French 0.3%. Higher than in 65% of Canadian towns: 2.4% of residents have French as their mother tongue. As a yardstick, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Perth ranks below 77% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 17%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 12%, against 9.5%. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 41%
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 41% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 39% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (6,794 to 7,145 people), the 3rd oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The span goes from 27.2 (Rhineland) up to 61.6 (Fairwinds). The closest ages to Perth’s belong to Thunder Bay, Unorganized (51.6), Algoma, Unorganized, North Part (54.4), Gimli (59.2) and Fairwinds (61.6).
Every nearby town is younger than Perth
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perth | 6,972 | — | 58.4 | 39% | 6.6% |
| Drummond/North Elmsley | 8,817 | 7.0 km | 50.8 | 25% | 5.4% |
| Tay Valley | 6,171 | 10.2 km | 57.2 | 32% | 6.1% |
| Smiths Falls | 11,093 | 18.7 km | 47.2 | 26% | 6% |
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. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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.
Questions about Perth’s residents
What is the population of Perth?
The latest figure is an estimate: 6,972 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Perth counted 6,469, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Perth?
Half the residents are older than 58.4 and half younger, older than 98% of Canadian towns; 11% are children under 15 and 39% are 65 or over.
Is Perth bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 11% are. Another 0% speak only French and 89% only English, and French is the first language of 2.4%.
How diverse is Perth?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 6.6%. A visible minority makes up 2.5% and Indigenous residents 4.2%.
What religion are people in Perth?
Most often Christian (60%) or no religion (39%); other religions make up 1.9%.
Is Perth good for families?
Children under 15 are 11% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 41% of households and one-parent families 9.5%. Schools near Perth are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Perth?
Median total household income in Perth was $63,200 in 2020, against a median of $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).