Photo: Gogerr · CC BY-SA 4.0A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of Canadian towns, at 7.7%
Against a figure of 19% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Port Elgin comes in at 26%. Here, three quarters of households live in a single-detached house. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are common here: 43%, more than in 74% of Canadian towns. The town is home to some 18,167 people (July 2025 estimate), in 6,905 households at the 2021 Census. Statistics Canada counts Port Elgin as part of Saugeen Shores: the figures on this page are the municipality’s.
What stands out about the people of Port Elgin
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Port Elgin went from 13,715 to 15,908 residents (+16%), faster growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Faster growth than 93% of Canadian towns: Port Elgin changed by +16% since 2016
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 14% higher again.
Older than 76% of Canadian towns: half of Port Elgin is over 46.8
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with 8.8% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 16% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Port Elgin, 46.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Port Elgin households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 64% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The figure for one-parent families is 6.7% in Port Elgin and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. One-person households: 29% of the total.
In Port Elgin, 55% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 80% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 20% of adults, against a typical 27%. Here, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
20% of households rent their home, below 63% 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
Just over a third of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 17% built before 1961. Against that, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 0.1%.
Median household income: $103,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Port Elgin’s median household took in $103,000 before tax, 20% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Ontario’s towns, the typical figure is $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 20% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Port Elgin: 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 57% of Canadian towns
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
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Port Elgin has 11%. Residents without Canadian citizenship: 2.7% of the total.
Indigenous residents: 4.3%, a higher share than 65% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (2.2%). At 7.6%, the share of visible minority residents is lower than in 62% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
89% have English as their mother tongue; 7.3% also speak French
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
Locally, 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
35% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 64% of Canadian towns don’t reach
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
5.7% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
Employment: 52% of residents 15 and over had a job
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
52% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 26% are 65 or more.
Ranked by age, 9th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The group spans Schmidtville, youngest at 29, to Oak Bay, oldest at 54.4. Closest in median age to Port Elgin are Sainte-Catherine (43.6), Eringate-Centennial-West Deane (46.3), L'Ancienne-Lorette (47.6) and Thornhill (47.9).
1 in 3 nearby towns have a higher median age than Port Elgin
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Port Elgin has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 21–30 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Elgin | 18,167 | — | 46.8 | 26% | 11% |
| Chesley | 7,639 | 21.0 km | 42 | 22% | 3.8% |
| Wiarton | 9,799 | 26.9 km | 56.8 | 33% | 7.3% |
| Kincardine | 13,169 | 29.7 km | 44.4 | 24% | 11% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
Questions about Port Elgin’s residents
How diverse is Port Elgin?
11% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 7.6% belong to a visible minority and 4.3% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Port Elgin?
52% are Christian and 43% have no religion; 5% follow another religion.
Is Port Elgin good for families?
Under 15: 16% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 59% of households. One-parent families: 6.7%. Schools near Port Elgin are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Port Elgin?
The median household in Port Elgin took in $103,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Port Elgin?
Port Elgin had about 18,167 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 15,908, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Port Elgin?
A median age of 46.8, older than 76% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 16%, and people 65 and over 26%.
Is Port Elgin bilingual?
English and French: 7.3% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 92%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.5%.
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).