Photo: Tyeman200 · CC BY-SA 3.029% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
Half of Tillsonburg’s residents are over 49.2, older than in 83% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 8,230 households in the town; by July 2025 the population was about 21,450. Across Tillsonburg, 6.1% of households live in a building of five or more storeys. Most recent wave: 10% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%).
What stands out about the people of Tillsonburg
Growing faster than most
Tillsonburg went from 15,872 people in 2016 to 18,615 in 2021, +17%: faster growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Many older residents
29% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% of Canadian towns; 8.4% are 80 or over, and 31% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+17% since 2016, a pace 94% of Canadian towns didn’t match
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 15% higher again. Across Ontario’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
14% of residents are under 15, below 71% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; across Canada’s towns the figure is 11%. The largest age band is 65–69: 7.5% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Tillsonburg, 49.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Smaller households than 74% of Canadian towns: 2.2 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.
Compared with 27% across Canada’s towns, 31% of households are one person living alone here. One-parent families account for 8.1%.
Married residents 15 and over: 49%, a higher share than 59% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up just over a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners account for 10%.
Tillsonburg: 29% of households rent their home, above 58% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
24% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 22% built before 1961. Across the comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Households in single-detached houses make up 68%, against 64% across Canada’s towns.
$73,500 a year is the median household income here
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Tillsonburg’s households had a total income below $73,500, 15% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Ontario’s towns have a median of $91,600. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 25% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 69% of Canadian towns, at 13%
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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 (55%), then in the Americas (26%). The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across Canada’s towns: 11%. Tillsonburg has fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than 77% of Canadian towns, at 1.9%. Add to that, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, against 13% here.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 57% of Canadian towns, at 37%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
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 Tillsonburg comes in at 5.7%. Typically, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Census figures put Indigenous residents at 2.7% locally.
88% have English as their mother tongue; 3% also speak French
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 96%, French 0.1%. Bilingual residents are rarer here than in 94% of Canadian towns. Little separates the share of residents whose mother tongue is French here, 1%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 14%, a lower share than 85% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 15% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
47% 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. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 47%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 29% of residents are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 2nd of 41 towns of 20,915 to 22,014 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The group spans Saddle Ridge, youngest at 32.4, to Port Colborne, oldest at 50.4. Next to Tillsonburg on this scale come Colchester County, Subdivision B (48.8), South Frontenac (48.8) and Port Colborne (50.4).
Tillsonburg is older than every town around it
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tillsonburg | 21,450 | — | 49.2 | 29% | 13% |
| South-West Oxford | 8,375 | 14.7 km | 39.6 | 17% | 9.4% |
| Norwich | 12,321 | 16.3 km | 36 | 15% | 11% |
| Bayham | 7,935 | 16.6 km | 34.4 | 15% | 18% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Tillsonburg’s residents
What is the population of Tillsonburg?
About 21,450, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 18,615 people in Tillsonburg, 17% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Tillsonburg?
The median age is 49.2, older than 83% of Canadian towns. 14% are under 15 and 29% 65 or older.
Is Tillsonburg bilingual?
3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 97% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1%.
How diverse is Tillsonburg?
Immigrants: 13% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 5.7%. Indigenous identity: 2.7%.
What religion are people in Tillsonburg?
37% said they have no religion and 60% that they are Christian; 2.5% named another faith.
Is Tillsonburg good for families?
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 54% of households and one-parent families 8.1%. Schools near Tillsonburg are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Tillsonburg?
Half of Tillsonburg’s households had more than $73,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).