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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census metropolitan area of St. Catharines - Niagara, Ontario

Map of St. Catharines - Niagara, CMA (shaded in green), Ontario

Map of St. Catharines - Niagara

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: St. Catharines - Niagara, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: St. Catharines - Niagara, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
6
Nat. rank
12

In 2011, the population of St. Catharines - Niagara census metropolitan area (CMA) was 392,184, representing a percentage change of 0.5% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CMAs of 7.4%.

In St. Catharines - Niagara, the land area is 1,397.51 square kilometres with a population density of 280.6 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the national land area of 8,965,121.42 square kilometres with a population density of 3.7 persons per square kilometre. The land area of all CMAs is 92,648.98 square kilometres with 249.58 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 160,455 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in St. Catharines - Niagara in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 2.6%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Census subdivisions in the St. Catharines - Niagara CMA

Table 1 St. Catharines - Niagara CMA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name Type Population
2011 2006 % change
St. Catharines CY 131,400 131,989 -0.4
Niagara Falls CY 82,997 82,184 1.0
Welland CY 50,631 50,331 0.6
Fort Erie T 29,960 29,925 0.1
Lincoln T 22,487 21,722 3.5
Port Colborne CY 18,424 18,599 -0.9
Thorold CY 17,931 18,224 -1.6
Pelham T 16,598 16,155 2.7
Niagara-on-the-Lake T 15,400 14,587 5.6
Wainfleet TP 6,356 6,601 -3.7

Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) in Ontario

Table 2 Ontario – Metropolitan areas, population rank and population change, 2006 to 2011
CMA or CA name Type Population Rank
2011 2006 % change Nat. Prov.
Toronto CMA 5,583,064 5,113,149 9.2 1 1
Ottawa - Gatineau CMA 1,236,324 1,133,633 A 9.1 4 ···
Ottawa - Gatineau (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   314,501 286,831 A 9.6 ··· 3
Ottawa - Gatineau (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   921,823 846,802 8.9 ··· 2
Hamilton CMA 721,053 692,911 4.1 9 3
Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo CMA 477,160 451,235 5.7 10 4
London CMA 474,786 457,720 3.7 11 5
St. Catharines - Niagara CMA 392,184 390,317 0.5 12 6
Oshawa CMA 356,177 330,594 7.7 14 7
Windsor CMA 319,246 323,342 -1.3 16 8
Barrie CMA 187,013 177,061 5.6 21 9
Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury CMA 160,770 158,258 1.6 24 10
Kingston CMA 159,561 152,358 4.7 25 11
Guelph CMA 141,097 133,698 A 5.5 28 12
Brantford CMA 135,501 124,607 8.7 30 13
Thunder Bay CMA 121,596 122,907 -1.1 32 14
Peterborough CMA 118,975 116,570 2.1 33 15
Chatham-Kent CA 104,075 108,589 -4.2 35 16
Belleville CA 92,540 91,518 1.1 40 17
Sarnia CA 89,555 88,793 0.9 44 18
Sault Ste. Marie † CA 79,800 80,098 -0.4 47 19
Kawartha Lakes CA 73,214 74,561 -1.8 49 20
North Bay CA 64,043 63,424 1.0 53 21
Norfolk CA 63,175 62,563 1.0 54 22
Cornwall CA 58,957 58,485 0.8 55 23
Leamington CA 49,765 49,741 0.0 63 24
Timmins CA 43,165 42,997 0.4 69 25
Orillia CA 40,731 40,532 0.5 73 26
Brockville CA 39,024 39,668 -1.6 75 27
Woodstock CA 37,754 35,822 A 5.4 76 28
Midland CA 35,419 35,432 A 0.0 79 29
Owen Sound CA 32,092 32,259 -0.5 85 30
Stratford CA 30,886 30,516 A 1.2 86 31
Centre Wellington CA 26,693 26,049 2.5 95 32
Pembroke CA 24,017 23,195 3.5 102 33
Collingwood CA 19,241 17,290 11.3 106 34
Cobourg CA 18,519 18,210 1.7 109 35
Port Hope CA 16,214 16,390 -1.1 121 36
Petawawa CA 15,988 14,651 9.1 123 37
Kenora CA 15,348 15,177 1.1 125 38
Tillsonburg CA 15,301 14,822 3.2 126 39
Temiskaming Shores CA 13,566 13,654 A -0.6 129 40
Ingersoll CA 12,146 11,760 3.3 142 41
Hawkesbury CA 12,128 12,267 -1.1 143 ···
Hawkesbury (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   1,577 1,398 12.8 ··· 31
Hawkesbury (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   10,551 10,869 -2.9 ··· 43
Elliot Lake CA 11,348 11,549 -1.7 146 42

Age and sex

St. Catharines - Niagara – Age distribution

Chart C: St. Catharines - Niagara - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: St. Catharines - Niagara - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 St. Catharines - Niagara – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 15.2% 16.0% 14.4%
15 to 64 65.7% 66.6% 64.8%
65 and over 19.2% 17.4% 20.8%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in St. Catharines - Niagara was 19.2%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 65.7% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 15.2%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

St. Catharines - Niagara – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 St. Catharines - Niagara – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex Population
2011 2006 change % change
Both sexes
Total 392,180 390,320 1,860 0.5
0 to 14 59,470 64,640 -5,170 -8.0
15 to 64 257,590 256,505 1,085 0.4
65 and over 75,130 69,175 5,955 8.6
Males
Total 189,400 188,530 870 0.5
0 to 14 30,305 33,050 -2,745 -8.3
15 to 64 126,105 125,760 345 0.3
65 and over 32,990 29,720 3,270 11.0
Females
Total 202,780 201,785 995 0.5
0 to 14 29,155 31,590 -2,435 -7.7
15 to 64 131,485 130,745 740 0.6
65 and over 42,140 39,455 2,685 6.8

St. Catharines - Niagara – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D: St. Catharines - Niagara - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: St. Catharines - Niagara - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 St. Catharines - Niagara – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 392,180 189,400 202,780
0 to 4 years 18,365 9,345 9,020
5 to 9 years 19,435 10,015 9,420
10 to 14 years 21,670 10,955 10,715
15 to 19 years 25,620 13,090 12,525
20 to 24 years 24,870 12,745 12,130
25 to 29 years 21,350 10,675 10,675
30 to 34 years 20,410 9,950 10,460
35 to 39 years 22,110 10,685 11,425
40 to 44 years 25,425 12,290 13,135
45 to 49 years 30,990 15,030 15,965
50 to 54 years 30,960 14,875 16,085
55 to 59 years 28,780 13,755 15,020
60 to 64 years 27,075 13,010 14,065
65 to 69 years 21,490 10,375 11,115
70 to 74 years 16,910 7,900 9,010
75 to 79 years 14,275 6,345 7,935
80 to 84 years 11,690 4,895 6,800
85 to 89 years 7,355 2,585 4,775
90 to 94 years 2,725 760 1,960
95 to 99 years 610 130 485
100 years and over 70 5 65
Median age 44.4 43.0 45.6

St. Catharines - Niagara – Median age1 of the population

Chart E: Canada, Ontario and St. Catharines - Niagara - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Ontario and St. Catharines - Niagara - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in St. Catharines - Niagara was 44.4 years. In comparison, the median age of Ontario was 40.4 years.

Table 6 Canada, Ontario and St. Catharines - Niagara – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
Ontario 39.0 40.4
St. Catharines - Niagara 42.1 44.4

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families2 in St. Catharines - Niagara was 112,990, which represents a change of 0.4% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In St. Catharines - Niagara, 70.5% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 11.6% were common-law-couples and 17.9% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: St. Catharines - Niagara - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: St. Catharines - Niagara - Census families by family structure

St. Catharines - Niagara – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Ontario, St. Catharines - Niagara – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name Total families Married-couple families Common-law-couple families Lone-parent families % change, census families, 2006 to 2011
number % number % number %
Canada † 9,389,695 6,293,950 67.0 1,567,905 16.7 1,527,840 16.3 5.5
Ontario † 3,612,205 2,612,890 72.3 394,670 10.9 604,645 16.7 5.5
St. Catharines - Niagara 112,990 79,660 70.5 13,120 11.6 20,210 17.9 0.4

St. Catharines - Niagara – Presence of children within couple families

Chart G: St. Catharines - Niagara - Presence of children within couple families
Married couples Common-law-couples
with children without children with children without children
34,285 (37.0%) 45,375 (48.9%) 5,170 ( 5.6%) 7,950 ( 8.6%)

Chart G description: St. Catharines - Niagara - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census metropolitan area of St. Catharines - Niagara, 42.5% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Among couples with children aged 24 and under at home in the census metropolitan area of St. Catharines - Niagara, 85.1% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 14.9% were stepfamilies, in which there was at least one child was the biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner. For Canada as a whole in 2011, 12.6% of couples with children aged 24 and under were stepfamilies.

St. Catharines - Niagara – Marital status

Chart H: St. Catharines - Niagara - Marital status

Chart H description: St. Catharines - Niagara - Marital status

In St. Catharines - Niagara, 56.9% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (49.0%) or living with a common-law partner (7.9%).

The remaining 43.1% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 8 Canada, Ontario, St. Catharines - Niagara – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status St. Catharines - Niagara Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 332,715 100.0 10,671,050 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 189,280 56.9 6,158,605 57.7 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 162,940 49.0 5,367,400 50.3 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 26,340 7.9 791,210 7.4 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 143,435 43.1 4,512,440 42.3 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 84,870 25.5 2,985,020 28.0 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 12,130 3.6 319,805 3.0 698,245 2.5
Divorced 21,280 6.4 593,730 5.6 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 25,160 7.6 613,880 5.8 1,584,525 5.7

St. Catharines - Niagara – Types of private households

There were 160,455 private households3 in St. Catharines - Niagara in 2011, a change of 2.6% from 2006. Of these, 24.0% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -9.1% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Ontario, St. Catharines - Niagara – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type4 St. Catharines - Niagara Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Private households 160,455 100.0 4,887,505 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home5		 38,430 24.0 1,402,420 28.7 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home6		 51,315 32.0 1,408,120 28.8 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households7 18,690 11.6 535,825 11.0 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 44,475 27.7 1,230,980 25.2 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple-family households8 2,250 1.4 128,660 2.6 268,060 2.0
Other households9 5,300 3.3 181,500 3.7 543,340 4.1

St. Catharines - Niagara – Structural type of dwelling

In St. Catharines - Niagara, 67.9% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 5.8% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Ontario, St. Catharines - Niagara – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling St. Catharines - Niagara Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 160,455 100.0 4,887,510 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 108,965 67.9 2,718,880 55.6 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 8,570 5.3 279,470 5.7 646,240 4.9
Row house 9,090 5.7 415,230 8.5 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 9,305 5.8 789,975 16.2 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 17,965 11.2 498,160 10.2 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 5,690 3.5 160,460 3.3 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house10 535 0.3 9,535 0.2 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling11 340 0.2 15,795 0.3 183,510 1.4

Language

St. Catharines - Niagara – Mother tongue

Chart J: St. Catharines - Niagara - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Chart J description: St. Catharines - Niagara - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In St. Catharines - Niagara, 81.4% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 3.3% reported French only, and 13.9% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 68.2% for English only, 3.9% for French only and 25.7% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 91.6% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 1.0% spoke only French and 5.3% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 79.0% for English only, 2.2% for French only and 14.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 St. Catharines - Niagara – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 386,520 100.0 386,525 100.0
English 314,670 81.4 354,110 91.6
French 12,830 3.3 4,010 1.0
Non-official language 53,885 13.9 20,580 5.3
Multiple responses 5,135 1.3 7,820 2.0
Table 12 St. Catharines - Niagara – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention12
(in percentage)
Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis Complete retention; language spoken most often at home Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English 99.8 99.6 0.2
French 57.5 31.3 26.3
Non-official language 67.9 43.6 24.3

St. Catharines - Niagara – Non-official languages

In St. Catharines - Niagara, the three most common mother tongues were Italian (3.1%), German (1.8%) and Spanish (1.1%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Italian (2.1%), Chinese, n.o.s. (1.6%) and Cantonese (1.5%).

Table 13 St. Catharines - Niagara – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Number Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
Italian 12,060 20.9 3.1
German 6,875 11.9 1.8
Spanish 4,350 7.5 1.1
Polish 3,810 6.6 1.0
Dutch 3,700 6.4 1.0
Arabic 2,135 3.7 0.6
Hungarian 2,005 3.5 0.5
Ukrainian 1,960 3.4 0.5
Chinese, n.o.s. 1,750 3.0 0.5
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) 1,515 2.6 0.4

St. Catharines - Niagara – Bilingualism

Table 14 St. Catharines - Niagara – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups Mother tongue
Total English French Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total 7.5 4.6 89.0 4.9
0 to 19 8.0 6.4 87.5 10.3
20 to 44 7.7 5.5 92.5 6.1
45 to 64 7.2 3.1 90.4 4.7
65 and over 6.8 2.6 84.7 2.8
Table 15 St. Catharines - Niagara – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 386,525 100.0
English only 353,445 91.4
French only 490 0.1
English and French 29,910 7.7
Neither English nor French 2,680 0.7

Symbols:

···
not applicable
†
excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A
adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E
use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.


Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.
 

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