Photo: Michael Gil from Calgary, AB, Canada · CC BY 2.0A larger share of households in buildings of five or more storeys than 94% of Canadian towns: 43%
Compared with 35% across Canada’s towns, nearly a quarter of residents said they have no religion here. Islington counted 23,659 residents and 9,275 households at the 2021 Census. Residents who moved in within the year: 9.1% of the total. 11% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a higher share than in 72% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Islington
More immigrants than most towns
Immigrants make up 42% of residents; the medians are 26% across Ontario’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (47%), then in Asia (33%), and 22% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
Buildings of five storeys or more hold 43% of households, more than in 94% of Canadian towns, and 30% of homes are condos. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A median age of 44: Islington is older than 62% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.7% of residents. Islington has more residents aged 65 and over than 62% of Canadian towns, at 21%. Where 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, Islington has 15%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Islington, 44. 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.
A larger share of one-parent families than 75% of Canadian towns: 10%
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households in Islington hold 2.5 people on average (Canada’s towns: 2.4). The census found that 27% of households are one person living alone here. Typically, 8.2% of households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
In Islington, 6.1% of residents 15 and over live common-law, fewer than in 85% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 30% of adults, against a typical 27%. As a reference point, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of households in single-detached houses than 73% of Canadian towns: 46%
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
31% of households rent their home; across Canada’s towns the figure is 25%. Across Canada’s towns, 64% of households live in a single-detached house. Older homes outnumber new: 32% predate 1961, 19% date from 2001 or later.
The middle household earns $105,800 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Islington had $105,800 before tax, 23% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Ontario’s towns is $91,600. Pandemic benefits reached 29% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Above 86% of Canadian towns: 42% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Just over a fifth of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Against that, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (47%), then in Asia (33%).
A larger share of visible minority residents than 72% of Canadian towns: 34%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of Indigenous residents trails 88% of Canadian towns: 0.6%. Against that, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Among other religions: Muslim (7.3%) and Hindu (2.8%).
Islington sits above 61% of Canadian towns for bilingual residents (9.9%)
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At 1%, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%.
A larger share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 85% of Canadian towns: 51%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Employment: 55% of residents 15 and over had a job
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 55% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 21% of residents are 65 or over.
41 towns of 22,703 to 24,629 people: this is the 14th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The span goes from 32.4 (Fort St. John) up to 51.6 (Brockville). New Hamburg (42.8), Springwater (43.2), Sept-Îles (44.4) and Birchcliffe-Cliffside (44.9): the towns nearest Islington in median age.
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than Islington
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islington | 23,659 | — | 44 | 21% | 42% |
| Etobicoke City Centre | 23,856 | 1.4 km | 37 | 13% | 49% |
| Etobicoke West Mall | 12,218 | 1.6 km | 40.7 | 19% | 50% |
| Princess-Rosethorn | 11,177 | 2.3 km | 46.2 | 21% | 31% |
| Markland Wood | 10,559 | 2.6 km | 51.3 | 28% | 38% |
| Eringate-Centennial-West Deane | 18,501 | 2.6 km | 46.3 | 22% | 43% |
| Kingsway South | 8,935 | 3.1 km | 47.8 | 24% | 22% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- 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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada reports the census by municipality; a neighbourhood’s figures are the sum of its dissemination areas, rounded counts and all, with medians estimated from age and income groups and no 2016 count, as the 2016 areas don’t fit.
Questions about Islington’s residents
What is the population of Islington?
Islington had 23,659 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in Islington?
The median age is 44, older than 62% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 21% 65 or older.
Is Islington bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 9.9% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 88% speak only English and 0% only French; 1% grew up with French.
How diverse is Islington?
Immigrants: 42% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 34%. Indigenous identity: 0.6%.
What religion are people in Islington?
23% said they have no religion and 64% that they are Christian; 13% named another faith.
Is Islington good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 52% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Islington are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Islington?
Half of Islington’s households had more than $105,800 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).