Photo: GTD Aquitaine · Public domainPeterborough sits above 77% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (24%)
The share of households in buildings of five or more storeys tops just over three quarters of Canadian towns: 7.2%. Higher than in 70% of Canadian towns: 5% of residents have an Indigenous identity. Some 97,834 people live in Peterborough, by the estimate for July 2025. The census found that 33% of households are one person living alone here.
Peterborough’s population moved +3% on 2016, less than in 55% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 17%.
14% of residents are under 15, fewer than in 69% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Half of Peterborough’s residents are over 43.2, older than in 57% of Canadian towns. Across the comparison, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. The largest age band is 20–24: 7.2% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Peterborough, 43.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Above 77% of Canadian towns: 10% of households are one-parent families
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
Fewer married residents 15 and over than 69% of Canadian towns: 39%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
12% of residents 15 and over live common-law, against 11% across Canada’s towns.
41% of households rent their home, a share 75% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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: 36% predate 1961, 15% date from 2001 or later. Single-detached houses hold 57% of households, less than in 59% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 7.2%. The benchmark for renter households across Canada’s towns: 25%.
The middle household earns $71,500 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Peterborough’s, at $71,500, is 17% lower. For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 28% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
A larger share of residents who moved in within the year than 64% of Canadian towns: 13%
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 largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (43%) and in Asia (35%). On average, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. One in ten residents are immigrants, a lower share than in 65% of Canadian towns. Of the immigrants living here, 23% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
44% of residents said they have no religion, a share 76% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents is 9.4%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 35% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 90%, and 7.9% speak French as well
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
At home: English 95%, French 0.3%. 1% of residents have French as their mother tongue, a lower share than in 71% of Canadian towns.
Peterborough ranks above 53% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 29%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 9%, against 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
49% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
49% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 24% are 65 or more.
Among 41 towns of 74,621 to 128,693 people, the 19th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The youngest is Fort McMurray (34.4) and the oldest Lindsay (51.6). By median age, Peterborough sits among Brossard (42.8), Victoria (42.8), Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (43.6) and Thunder Bay (44).
Peterborough is younger than every town around it
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peterborough | 97,834 | — | 43.2 | 24% | 9.7% |
| Otonabee-South Monaghan | 8,084 | 11.3 km | 49.2 | 24% | 6.5% |
| Bridgenorth | 20,628 | 11.9 km | 52 | 29% | 7.5% |
| Millbrook | 11,507 | 16.1 km | 44.8 | 21% | 7.7% |
| Douro-Dummer | 8,379 | 18.0 km | 48.4 | 23% | 6.1% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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 Peterborough’s residents
What is the average age in Peterborough?
A median age of 43.2, older than 57% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 24%.
Is Peterborough bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 7.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 92% only English, and French is the first language of 1%.
How diverse is Peterborough?
9.7% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 9.4% belong to a visible minority and 5% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Peterborough?
51% are Christian and 44% have no religion; 5.4% follow another religion.
Is Peterborough good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 45% of households. One-parent families: 10%. Schools near Peterborough are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Peterborough?
The median household in Peterborough took in $71,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Peterborough?
Peterborough had about 97,834 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 83,651, 3% more than 2016.
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).