Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0More households in buildings of five or more storeys than 89% of Canadian towns: 25%
Just over a quarter of residents are 65 or over; across Canada’s towns the figure is 19%. Here, nearly two in five households are one person living alone. On children under 15, Riverside sits lower than 77% of Canadian towns: 13%. Census day 2021: 21,828 residents and 10,305 households locally.
Half of Riverside is over 47.5, older than 78% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 8% of residents. At 9.2%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is lower than in 77% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Riverside, 47.5. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Riverside households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families: 11% here and 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
43% of residents 15 and over are married, below 62% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
28% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Locally, 9.1% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
In Riverside, 35% of households rent their home, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
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: 39% predate 1961, 5.7% date from 2001 or later. Single-detached houses hold 60% of households, less than in 55% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 25%.
Household income at the median: $73,700 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Riverside’s households had a total income below $73,700, 14% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Ontario’s towns, half of households had more than $91,600 before tax. 29% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
In Riverside, 9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 72% 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
Immigrants: 19% here and 17% across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Europe (43%) or in Asia (33%). The share of residents who moved in within the year across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Below 65% of Canadian towns: 30% of residents said they have no religion
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (2.4%). Across the comparison, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 2.1%.
Bilingual residents: 8.7%, a higher share than 56% of Canadian towns
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
At home, 6.7% mostly speak another language; 1.1% speak neither English nor French. Riverside has more residents whose mother tongue is French than nearly two thirds of Canadian towns, at 2.3%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%.
27% 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
Some 6.7% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%.
In work on census day: 45% of adults
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 45%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 26% are 65 or over.
In its size band (21,328 to 22,329), the 6th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages here range from 31.4 in Electoral Area A, Metro Vancouver to 50.4 in Port Colborne. In age, Riverside keeps company with Red Deer County (46), Ile-des-Soeurs (46.7), L'Amoreaux West (47.6) and South Frontenac (48.8).
No nearby town is as old as Riverside
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | 21,828 | — | 47.5 | 26% | 19% |
| East Windsor | 20,876 | 2.6 km | 41.4 | 19% | 19% |
| East Riverside | 15,758 | 3.1 km | 46.5 | 25% | 33% |
| Fontainebleau | 11,567 | 3.2 km | 45.1 | 22% | 27% |
| Forest Glade | 21,328 | 3.5 km | 40.4 | 19% | 36% |
| South Walkerville | 6,129 | 5.5 km | 43.2 | 20% | 15% |
| Walkerville | 19,541 | 5.7 km | 37 | 14% | 28% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. The figures sum the neighbourhood’s dissemination areas, since the census is published for municipalities only. Medians are estimated from the age and income groups, counts carry Statistics Canada’s rounding, and no 2016 count matches these boundaries.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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 Riverside’s residents
What is the average age in Riverside?
47.5 is the median age, older than 78% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 26%.
Is Riverside bilingual?
8.7% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 90% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.3%.
How diverse is Riverside?
Immigrants make up 19% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 15% are members of a visible minority, and 2.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Riverside?
Christian: 65%. No religion: 30%. Another religion: 5.3%.
Is Riverside good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 44% of households are couple families and 11% one-parent families. Schools near Riverside are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Riverside?
$73,700 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Riverside (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Riverside?
The 2021 Census counted 21,828 people in Riverside.
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).