Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0More one-parent families than 87% of Canadian towns: 11%
Across Canada’s towns, just over a third of residents said they have no religion; in St. Thomas, 44%. At 4.3%, the share of households in buildings of five or more storeys is higher than in 72% of Canadian towns. Some 49,388 people live in the town, by the estimate for July 2025. The census found that 2.3% of residents are not Canadian citizens locally.
St. Thomas’s population changed by +10% since 2016, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 15%. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across Ontario’s towns.
St. Thomas is older than 59% of Canadian towns: a median age of 43.6
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.2% of residents. Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 65% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; St. Thomas has 17%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ St. Thomas, 43.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women.
Smaller households than 64% of Canadian towns: 2.3 people on average
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.
Against a figure of 27% across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households in St. Thomas comes in at 30%.
In St. Thomas, 12% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 58% 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: a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. Typically, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of renter households than 63% of Canadian towns: 32%
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
33% of homes were built before 1961 and 25% in 2001 or later. Here 65% of households live in a single-detached house, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 64%.
The median household brings in $75,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
At $75,000, the middle household in St. Thomas earned 13% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $91,600, the median across Ontario’s towns. Pandemic benefits reached 27% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
St. Thomas: 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 59% 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
Most recent wave: 14% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Across St. Thomas, 10% of residents are immigrants.
54% said they are Christian and 44% that they have no religion
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here 7.1% of residents belong to a visible minority, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 15%. 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 4.8% 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 1%. At home: English 96%, French 0.2%. Lower than in 77% of Canadian towns: 4.8% of residents speak English and French.
17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 77% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
9.6% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
52% of adults were employed in May 2021
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 52%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 21% are 65 or over.
The 15th oldest of 41 towns of 42,135 to 56,897 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages here range from 34.9 in Whalley to 54.4 in Shawinigan. In age, St. Thomas keeps company with Dollard-Des Ormeaux (43.6), Caledonia (43.6), Sault-Saint-Louis (43.8) and Anjou (43.9).
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than St. Thomas
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Thomas | 49,388 | — | 43.6 | 21% | 10% |
| Central Elgin | 15,230 | 2.0 km | 48.8 | 23% | 9.8% |
| Southwold | 5,473 | 12.6 km | 44 | 20% | 6.5% |
| Aylmer | 8,371 | 15.3 km | 39.2 | 20% | 17% |
| Malahide | 9,995 | 16.5 km | 37.2 | 16% | 16% |
| Lambeth | 2,609 | 17.8 km | 45.6 | 23% | 10% |
| White Oaks | 21,108 | 18.5 km | 37.6 | 16% | 36% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about St. Thomas’s residents
What religion are people in St. Thomas?
Christian: 54%. No religion: 44%. Another religion: 2.6%.
Is St. Thomas good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 17%. 50% of households are couple families and 11% one-parent families. Schools near St. Thomas are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in St. Thomas?
$75,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in St. Thomas (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of St. Thomas?
Statistics Canada estimates 49,388 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 42,840 in St. Thomas, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in St. Thomas?
43.6 is the median age, older than 59% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 17%. 65 and over: 21%.
Is St. Thomas bilingual?
English and French: 4.8% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 95%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1%.
How diverse is St. Thomas?
Immigrants make up 10% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 7.1% are members of a visible minority, and 2.8% 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).