Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 49.2: South River is older than 83% of Canadian towns
By its share of residents with no religion (49%), South River is above 85% of Canadian towns. This Ontario town has fewer residents who moved in within the year than 93% of Canadian towns, at 6.5%. About 1,211 people lived in the town in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. In South River, 40% of households rent their home.
What stands out about the people of South River
Many older residents
27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 85% of Canadian towns; 5% are 80 or over, and 30% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−1% since 2016, a pace below 86% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Ontario’s towns +6%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 10% higher again.
In South River, 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Children under 15 make up 14%, against 16% across Canada’s towns. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
A higher share of one-person households than 62% of Canadian towns, at 30%
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
In South River the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The benchmark for one-person households across Canada’s towns: 27%. Here, 9.4% of households are one-parent families.
South River: 18% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 82% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Compared with 46% across Canada’s towns, two in five residents 15 and over are married here. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Households in single-detached houses make up 81% in South River, more than in 75% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
14% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. The share of households in single-detached houses across Canada’s towns is 64%.
Half of households earn more than $61,200 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $61,200, the middle household in South River earned 29% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Ontario’s towns, the typical figure is $91,600. In 2020, 23% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
4.1% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
0.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens; across Canada’s towns the figure is 5.8%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (56%) and in the Americas (22%). On immigrants, South River sits lower than 85% of Canadian towns: 4.1%.
In South River, 5.5% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here 1.4% of residents belong to a visible minority, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 15%. Across Canada’s towns, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
95% have English as their mother tongue; 5% also speak French
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%; South River has 5%. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.8% of the total.
7.8% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 98% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 27% (typical 9.5%).
An employment rate of 40%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 27% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 40% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Every neighbour of South River has an older population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as 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.
Questions about South River’s residents
Is South River bilingual?
English and French: 5% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 95%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.8%.
How diverse is South River?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 4.1%. A visible minority makes up 1.4% and Indigenous residents 5.5%.
What religion are people in South River?
Most often Christian (50%) or no religion (49%); other religions make up 0.9%.
Is South River good for families?
Children under 15 are 14% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 50% of households and one-parent families 9.4%. Schools near South River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in South River?
Median total household income in South River was $61,200 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of South River?
The latest figure is an estimate: 1,211 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, South River counted 1,101, 1% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in South River?
Half the residents are older than 49.2 and half younger; 14% are children under 15 and 27% are 65 or over.
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).