Data
Hamilton by the numbers
Population, age, income, housing, background, language and work, from Statistics Canada.
Summary
Hamilton had 569,353 residents at the 2021 Census, up 6.0 per cent in five years. Statistics Canada’s latest estimate is 640,465 on 1 July 2025. The median household income was $86,000 in 2020, 25.9% of residents were immigrants, and 56.2% of homes are single-detached houses.
- Population
- 569,353
- 5-year growth
- +6.0%
- Latest estimate
- 640,465
- Median household income
- $86,000
How many people live in Hamilton?
569,353 at the 2021 Census, up from 536,917 in 2016. Statistics Canada estimates 640,465 on 1 July 2025 (preliminary). There is no 2026 figure yet: the first 2026 Census results are due on February 10, 2027.
| Measure | 2016 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 536,917 | 569,353 |
| Change over five years | — | +6.0% |
| Measure | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Land area | 1,118.31 km² |
| Population density | 509.1 per km² |
| Private dwellings | 233,564 |
| Occupied by usual residents | 222,807 |
Statistics Canada's annual estimates. They adjust for people the census missed, so they run higher than census counts and should not be compared with them directly.
| Category | Residents |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 553,623 |
| 2017 | 562,009 |
| 2018 | 569,481 |
| 2019 | 578,790 |
| 2020 | 588,282 |
| 2021 | 594,074 |
| 2022 | 602,649 |
| 2023 | 616,383 |
| 2024 | 633,239 |
| 2025 | 640,465 |
How old is Hamilton?
The median age was 40.8 in 2021, and the average 41.5. 18.3% of residents were 65 or over and 16.0% were under 15.
| Measure | 2016 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 14 | 16.2% | 16.0% |
| Aged 15 to 64 | 66.5% | 65.7% |
| Aged 65 and over | 17.3% | 18.3% |
| Aged 85 and over | 2.6% | 2.6% |
Households
There were 222,810 households in 2021, with an average of 2.5 people each.
| Measure | Share of households |
|---|---|
| 1 person | 27.9% |
| 2 persons | 32.1% |
| 3 persons | 15.9% |
| 4 persons | 14.7% |
| 5 or more persons | 9.5% |
What is the average household income in Hamilton?
The median household income was $86,000 before tax in 2020, and the average was $108,700. The average is pulled up by a smaller number of very high incomes, so the median is the better guide to a typical household.
| Measure | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Median household income, before tax | $86,000 |
| Median household income, after tax | $75,500 |
| Average household income, before tax | $108,700 |
| Median individual income, age 15+ | $40,400 |
| Low income (LIM-AT) | 10.8% |
Homes and housing costs
65.7% of households owned their home in 2021 and 34.3% rented. Among renters, 37.5% spent 30 per cent or more of their income on shelter.
| Measure | Share of households |
|---|---|
| Single-detached house | 56.2% |
| Semi-detached house | 3.0% |
| Row house | 12.3% |
| Apartment or flat in a duplex | 3.3% |
| Apartment in a building that has fewer than five storeys | 8.5% |
| Apartment in a building that has five or more storeys | 16.4% |
| Other single-attached house | 0.2% |
| Movable dwelling | 0.1% |
| Measure | Owners | Renters |
|---|---|---|
| Median monthly shelter cost | $1,440 | $1,120 |
| Spending 30%+ of income on shelter | 15.8% | 37.5% |
Where Hamilton residents come from
25.9% of residents were immigrants in 2021. The largest countries of birth among them were the United Kingdom, India and Italy.
| Measure | Share |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 8.4% |
| India | 7.5% |
| Italy | 6.1% |
| Philippines | 5.7% |
| Iraq | 3.9% |
| Portugal | 3.8% |
| Poland | 3.7% |
| Pakistan | 3.6% |
| Measure | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Total visible minority population | 140,950 | 25.1% |
| South Asian | 34,790 | 6.2% |
| Chinese | 10,945 | 2.0% |
| Black | 28,415 | 5.1% |
| Filipino | 11,730 | 2.1% |
| Arab | 15,490 | 2.8% |
| Latin American | 11,145 | 2.0% |
| Southeast Asian | 8,445 | 1.5% |
| West Asian | 7,365 | 1.3% |
| Multiple visible minorities | 5,825 | 1.0% |
| Not a visible minority | 419,965 | 74.9% |
What percentage of Hamilton is Indian?
There is no single census figure for this, because the census asks two different questions. 6.2% of Hamilton residents (34,790 people) identified as South Asian in 2021, a group that includes people of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and other South Asian backgrounds. Separately, 3.4% (19,105 people) reported Indian ancestry, either alone or alongside other origins.
Among Hamilton residents born outside Canada, 10,930 (7.5% of immigrants) were born in India.
Religion
55.2% of residents were Christian in 2021 and 32.8% reported no religion. The next largest group was Muslim: 37,980 residents, 6.8%.
| Measure | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Christian | 309,780 | 55.2% |
| of which Catholic | 162,525 | 29.0% |
| No religion and secular perspectives | 183,965 | 32.8% |
| Muslim | 37,980 | 6.8% |
| Hindu | 10,200 | 1.8% |
| Sikh | 7,270 | 1.3% |
| Buddhist | 4,765 | 0.8% |
| Other religions and spiritual traditions | 3,535 | 0.6% |
| Jewish | 3,045 | 0.5% |
| Traditional (North American Indigenous) spirituality | 375 | 0.1% |
Languages
English is the most common mother tongue, for 71.4% of residents, and the main home language of 83.2%. Arabic is the most common other language spoken at home. 5.8% can speak both English and French.
| Measure | Share |
|---|---|
| English | 71.4% |
| Arabic | 2.2% |
| Italian | 2.2% |
| Spanish | 1.8% |
| Portuguese | 1.3% |
| Polish | 1.2% |
| Punjabi (Panjabi) | 1.1% |
| French | 1.1% |
| Measure | Share |
|---|---|
| English | 83.2% |
| Arabic | 1.5% |
| Spanish | 1.0% |
| Punjabi (Panjabi) | 0.8% |
| Mandarin | 0.7% |
| Italian | 0.7% |
| Urdu | 0.6% |
| Portuguese | 0.6% |
| Measure | Share |
|---|---|
| English only | 92.3% |
| French only | 0.1% |
| English and French | 5.8% |
| Neither English nor French | 1.9% |
Education, work and commuting
31.0% of residents aged 25 to 64 held a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2021. The 2021 work and commuting figures were collected in May 2021 under COVID-19 restrictions, when 25.1% of workers were working from home, so they describe that moment rather than a normal year.
| Measure | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Participation rate | 61.9% |
| Employment rate | 54.3% |
| Unemployment rate | 12.3% |
| Measure | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Worked at home | 25.1% |
| Worked outside Canada | 0.3% |
| No fixed workplace address | 12.1% |
| Usual place of work | 62.5% |
| Measure | Share of commuters |
|---|---|
| Car, truck or van | 85.4% |
| Public transit | 7.4% |
| Walked | 4.6% |
| Bicycle | 0.7% |
| Other method | 2.0% |
| Measure | Workers |
|---|---|
| Hamilton | 111,255 |
| Burlington | 17,420 |
| Oakville | 5,625 |
| Mississauga | 5,065 |
| Toronto | 4,295 |
| Brantford | 2,380 |
| Milton | 1,730 |
When the 2026 Census numbers arrive
Statistics Canada has finished collecting the 2026 Census. The first of its seven releases of results, population and dwelling counts, is scheduled for February 10, 2027. This page will be updated as each release lands.
How these numbers work
Every figure is for Hamilton as Statistics Canada draws it, census subdivision 3525005. The 2021 figures come from the Census Profile, which randomly rounds counts to multiples of five, so parts may not add exactly to totals. Most social figures come from the long-form questionnaire and cover residents of private households, which leaves out people in collective dwellings such as nursing homes. Statistics Canada puts total non-response at 2.5% for the short form and 3.5% for the long form here.
The only 2016 comparisons shown are the population count and the broad age groups, which Statistics Canada republished on the 2021 boundaries. There are no figures for smaller areas here: Statistics Canada’s census tracts and dissemination areas are not the areas this site reports on, and splicing them together would produce numbers nobody published. Every dataset behind HamiltonIQ is listed on our data page.