Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain6.3% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, a share 75% of Canadian towns don’t reach
One-parent families: 10%, above 80% of Canadian towns. On the census count, 23% of residents are 65 or over. With a median age of 45.2, Welland is older than 69% of Canadian towns. Its population is up 7% on 2016.
Welland grew +7% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 66% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 19%.
15% of residents are under 15, fewer than in 62% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents. Across the comparison, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Welland, 45.2. 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.
Welland households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 64% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
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 Welland comes in at 30%.
44% of residents 15 and over are married, below 58% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 27% of adults, against a typical 27%. The census found that 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law in Welland.
Welland ranks above 61% of Canadian towns on renter households: 31%
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
Older homes outnumber new: 36% predate 1961, 15% date from 2001 or later. Single-detached houses hold 65% of households, more than in 51% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 6.3%. Across the comparison, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $71,500 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Welland had $71,500 before tax, 17% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. Pandemic benefits reached 29% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 63% of Canadian towns
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
Most recent wave: 19% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (55%) and in the Americas (22%). 3.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a lower share than in 60% of Canadian towns. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across Canada’s towns.
More Indigenous residents than 65% of Canadian towns: 4.3%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Compared with 15% across Canada’s towns, 8.7% of residents belong to a visible minority here. The share of Indigenous residents across Canada’s towns is 2.8%. Residents with no religion: just over a third of the total.
More residents whose mother tongue is French than 74% of Canadian towns: 7.2%
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
The share of bilingual residents tops 68% of Canadian towns: 13%. Across the comparison, 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns.
Below 75% of Canadian towns: 17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 8.8% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. To put it in context, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 48% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
48% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 23% are 65 or more.
In its size band (51,222 to 85,944), the 11th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At one end is Grande Prairie (34), at the other Shawinigan (54.4). Belleville (45.2), Saint-Jérôme (45.2), Sarnia (46) and Chomedey (46.2): the towns nearest Welland in median age.
A younger town than 3 of the 5 around it: Welland
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welland | 66,480 | — | 45.2 | 23% | 12% |
| Pelham | 19,980 | 6.6 km | 50.4 | 27% | 13% |
| Port Colborne | 21,921 | 11.3 km | 50.4 | 27% | 8.8% |
| Thorold | 33,844 | 13.2 km | 37.2 | 16% | 17% |
| Wainfleet | 7,329 | 14.3 km | 47.2 | 21% | 8.1% |
| Niagara Falls | 113,983 | 16.7 km | 44.8 | 22% | 23% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Welland’s residents
What is the median income in Welland?
Half of Welland’s households had more than $71,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Welland?
About 66,480, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 55,750 people in Welland, 7% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Welland?
The median age is 45.2, older than 69% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 23% 65 or older.
Is Welland bilingual?
13% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0.2% speak French only and 86% English only. French is the mother tongue of 7.2%.
How diverse is Welland?
Immigrants: 12% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 8.7%. Indigenous identity: 4.3%.
What religion are people in Welland?
35% said they have no religion and 62% that they are Christian; 2.7% named another faith.
Is Welland good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 49% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Welland are on its Schools page.
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).