Photo: Glenn Ford · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Petawawa is under 32, younger than 98% of Canadian towns
Residents with no religion: 42% here and 35% across Canada’s towns. Petawawa had about 19,606 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 6,760 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Renter households are more common here than in 69% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Petawawa
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Petawawa is 32; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 22% are under 15 and 9.4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Petawawa’s population changed by +6% since 2016, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Ontario’s towns, by more than +6%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 8% higher again.
Petawawa sits below 94% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (9.4%)
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with just over one in ten residents, 1.8 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Children under 15: 22% of the total.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Petawawa, 32. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 116 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.
One-person households: 23%, below 65% of Canadian towns. Across Petawawa, 7.1% of households are one-parent families.
A higher share of common-law partners than 77% of Canadian towns, at 15%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 27% of adults (typical: 27%). The usual figure: 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
70% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 59% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. 28% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 17% built before 1961. Against that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Half above, half below $102,000 a year in household income
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $102,000, the middle household in Petawawa out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 19%. Across Ontario’s towns the median is $91,600. In 2020, 17% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
6.2% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (47%), then in Asia (31%). Petawawa has fewer immigrants than 77% of Canadian towns, at 6.2%. On top of that, in Petawawa, 1.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens, beside 5.8% across Canada’s towns.
In Petawawa, 7.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 80% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 15% across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents in Petawawa comes in at 6.2%. For comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
9.9% of residents have French as their mother tongue, more than in 76% of Canadian towns
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in Petawawa comes in at 21%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 1.5%. At home: English 91%, French 5.8%.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 66% of Canadian towns: 20%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 6.3% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
66% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 66%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
2nd lowest median age among 41 towns of 19,134 to 20,080
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages here range from 28.8 in Mitchell to 57.2 in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In age, Petawawa keeps company with Mitchell (28.8), Fort York-Liberty Village (32.9) and Henry Farm (33).
Petawawa is younger than every town around it
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petawawa | 19,606 | — | 32 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
| Laurentian Valley | 9,714 | 12.5 km | 45.6 | 21% | 3.8% |
| Pembroke | 15,479 | 14.3 km | 46.4 | 27% | 4.5% |
| L'Isle-aux-Allumettes | 1,413 | 17.1 km | 50 | 26% | 3.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- 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. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Petawawa’s residents
What religion are people in Petawawa?
Christian: 55%. No religion: 42%. Another religion: 2.9%.
Is Petawawa good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 22%. 60% of households are couple families and 7.1% one-parent families. Schools near Petawawa are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Petawawa?
$102,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Petawawa (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Petawawa?
Statistics Canada estimates 19,606 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 18,160 in Petawawa, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Petawawa?
32 is the median age, younger than 98% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 22%. 65 and over: 9.4%.
Is Petawawa bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 21% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 78% speak only English and 0.8% only French; 9.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Petawawa?
Immigrants make up 6.2% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 6.2% are members of a visible minority, and 7.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
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).