Photo: Fabian Roudra Baroi · CC BY-SA 4.0Immigrants make up 53% in Downsview, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
Residents without Canadian citizenship: 21% here and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Census day 2021: 18,055 residents and 6,930 households in Downsview. Renter households account for 47%. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 16%, fewer than in 92% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Downsview
More immigrants than most towns
53% of residents are immigrants, against 26% across Ontario’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (51%) and in Europe (26%); 31% of them arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A mix of backgrounds
Visible minority residents make up 55%, more than in 88% of Canadian towns, and immigrants 53%. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 72% of Canadian towns: 15%
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Compared with 16% across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents are under 15 here. Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Downsview, 39.7. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
Downsview ranks above 94% of Canadian towns on one-parent families: 13%
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.6 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 8.2% of households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns. One-person households: just over a quarter of the total.
Downsview ranks below 78% of Canadian towns on common-law partners: 7.2%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The share of married residents 15 and over trails just over three fifths of Canadian towns: 43%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
A higher share of households in buildings of five or more storeys than 81% of Canadian towns, at 12%
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
The share of households in single-detached houses is 34%, against 64% across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 29% predate 1961, 29% date from 2001 or later.
Median household income here: $83,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Downsview had $83,000 before tax, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Ontario’s towns has $91,600 before tax. The pandemic’s benefits: 37% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
53% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 65%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most recent wave: 31% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (51%) and in Europe (26%). A year before the census, 11% lived somewhere else: more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns.
In Downsview, 55% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 88% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (4.3%) and Buddhist (2.8%). Measured more widely, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Lower than in 92% of Canadian towns: 0.3% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
58% have a mother tongue other than English or 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
32% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 4.8% speak neither official language. On bilingual residents, Downsview sits lower than 90% of Canadian towns: 3.7%. At 0.6%, residents whose mother tongue is French sit close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Downsview: 34% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 62% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Downsview, 34%, and 26% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 11%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
55% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 55%; 15% of residents are 65 or over.
In its size band (17,558 to 18,557), the 20th youngest of 41 towns
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The youngest is Schmidtville (29) and the oldest Edmundston (54). DT Fairview (38.9), Royal Oak (39.5), Mimico-Queensway (40.3) and Desmarchais-Crawford (40.3): the towns nearest Downsview in median age.
Around Downsview, 5 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downsview | 18,055 | — | 39.7 | 15% | 53% |
| Maple Leaf | 10,040 | 1.7 km | 43.3 | 20% | 51% |
| Oakdale-Beverley Heights | 21,386 | 2.4 km | 39.9 | 15% | 53% |
| Rustic | 9,543 | 2.7 km | 41.4 | 19% | 52% |
| Yorkdale-Glen Park | 17,043 | 2.9 km | 40.4 | 19% | 50% |
| York University Heights | 28,557 | 3.1 km | 36.1 | 14% | 56% |
| Glenfield-Jane Heights | 30,197 | 3.1 km | 40.5 | 18% | 59% |
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. Provincial and national yardsticks: Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. There is no census profile for a neighbourhood, so we add up the dissemination areas inside it. Each count is a sum of Statistics Canada’s rounded counts, the median age and income come from the published groups, and with 2016’s areas drawn differently there is no 2016 count.
- 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 Downsview’s residents
What is the average age in Downsview?
The median age is 39.7, younger than 65% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 15% 65 or older.
Is Downsview bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 3.7% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 91% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.6% grew up with French.
How diverse is Downsview?
Immigrants: 53% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 55%. Indigenous identity: 0.3%.
What religion are people in Downsview?
16% said they have no religion and 72% that they are Christian; 12% named another faith.
Is Downsview good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 43% of households and one-parent families 13%. Schools near Downsview are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Downsview?
Half of Downsview’s households had more than $83,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Downsview?
The 2021 Census counted 18,055 people in Downsview.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).