Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0More residents aged 15 to 24 than 88% of Canadian towns: 14%
Most recent wave: just over three in five immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Residents who moved in within the year: 18% of the total. With a median age of 38.8, Cornwall is younger than 71% of Canadian towns. This Prince Edward Island town had about 7,920 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 2,645 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Cornwall
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Cornwall went from 5,348 to 6,574 residents (+23%), faster growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Cornwall has grown +23%, faster than 98% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Prince Edward Island’s towns, +11%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 20%.
Children under 15 make up 18% in Cornwall, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The largest age band is 20–24: 7.8% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 60% of Canadian towns: 17%. Measured more widely, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Cornwall, 38.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
In Cornwall, 23% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Prince Edward Island’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Cornwall, 2.5. One-parent families: nearly a tenth of the total. On average, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Married residents 15 and over: 50%, a higher share than 60% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
27% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Locally, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
A higher share of renter households than 65% of Canadian towns, at 33%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. For comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 43% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 5.3% built before 1961. The figure for households in single-detached houses is 61% in Cornwall and 64% across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $85,000 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
Cornwall’s median household took in $85,000 before tax, about the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Prince Edward Island’s towns have a median of $82,500. In 2020, 27% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Cornwall sits above 70% of Canadian towns for residents without Canadian citizenship (11%)
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (50%), then in Europe (25%). 18% lived at another address a year earlier, more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. With immigrants at 9.7%, Cornwall is behind nearly two thirds of Canadian towns on that count.
Residents with no religion: 29%, a lower share than 67% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of Indigenous residents is 2.8%; Cornwall has 1.6%. Set beside that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Here, just over one in ten residents belong to a visible minority.
Bilingual residents: 16%, a higher share than 70% of Canadian towns
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home, 5.2% mostly speak another language; 0.6% speak neither English nor French. Higher than in 64% of Canadian towns: 2.2% of residents have French as their mother tongue. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Cornwall: 37% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 67% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 4.2%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
64% of residents 15 and over were in work
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 64%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
12th lowest median age among 41 towns of 7,772 to 8,047
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages climb from 27.4 (Taber) to 58.8 (Minden Hills) across the group. Next to Cornwall on this scale come Bienville (37.7), Labrador City (38.4), Newell County (39.2) and North Stormont (39.6).
Every neighbour of Cornwall has an older population
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall | 7,920 | — | 38.8 | 17% | 9.7% |
| Charlottetown | 48,118 | 5.4 km | 40.8 | 21% | 14% |
| Stratford | 13,152 | 8.3 km | 40.4 | 18% | 13% |
| Kingston | 1,308 | 8.8 km | 39.2 | 14% | 5.9% |
| Miltonvale Park | 1,279 | 9.3 km | 45.2 | 18% | 4.4% |
| West River | 4,155 | 9.9 km | 44.8 | 20% | 7.3% |
| Crossroads | 2,366 | 13.5 km | 41.2 | 14% | 3.5% |
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. “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 Prince Edward Island’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Prince Edward Island’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.
Questions about Cornwall’s residents
Is Cornwall good for families?
18% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 58% of households and one-parent families 9.3%. Schools near Cornwall are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cornwall?
Half of Cornwall’s households had more than $85,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Cornwall?
About 7,920, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 6,574 people in Cornwall, 23% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Cornwall?
The median age is 38.8, younger than 71% of Canadian towns. 18% are under 15 and 17% 65 or older.
Is Cornwall bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 16% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 84% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 2.2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Cornwall?
Immigrants: 9.7% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 12%. Indigenous identity: 1.6%.
What religion are people in Cornwall?
29% said they have no religion and 67% that they are Christian; 4% named another faith.
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).