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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census metropolitan area of Guelph, Ontario 1

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: Guelph, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Guelph, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
12
Nat. rank
28

In 2011, the population of Guelph census metropolitan area (CMA) was 141,097, representing a percentage change of 5.5% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CMAs of 7.4%.

In Guelph, the land area is 593.52 square kilometres with a population density of 237.7 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 54,868 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Guelph in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 7.3%. 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 Guelph CMA

Table 1 Guelph CMA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name Type Population
2011 2006 % change
Guelph CY 121,688 114,943 5.9
Guelph/Eramosa TP 12,380 12,066 2.6
Puslinch TP 7,029 6,689 5.1

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

Guelph – Age distribution

Table 3 Guelph – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 17.6% 18.4% 16.8%
15 to 64 69.0% 69.5% 68.5%
65 and over 13.4% 12.1% 14.7%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Guelph was 13.4%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 69.0% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 17.6%. 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.

Guelph – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Guelph – 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 141,100 133,700 7,400 5.5
0 to 14 24,785 24,720 65 0.3
15 to 64 97,340 92,210 5,130 5.6
65 and over 18,975 16,765 2,210 13.2
Males
Total 68,780 65,435 3,345 5.1
0 to 14 12,625 12,650 -25 -0.2
15 to 64 47,805 45,575 2,230 4.9
65 and over 8,350 7,210 1,140 15.8
Females
Total 72,315 68,265 4,050 5.9
0 to 14 12,165 12,065 100 0.8
15 to 64 49,530 46,635 2,895 6.2
65 and over 10,620 9,560 1,060 11.1

Guelph – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Guelph – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 141,100 68,780 72,315
0 to 4 years 8,195 4,195 4,000
5 to 9 years 8,155 4,145 4,005
10 to 14 years 8,435 4,275 4,165
15 to 19 years 9,390 4,855 4,535
20 to 24 years 10,390 5,085 5,300
25 to 29 years 9,710 4,790 4,925
30 to 34 years 9,245 4,560 4,680
35 to 39 years 9,630 4,705 4,925
40 to 44 years 10,105 4,960 5,145
45 to 49 years 11,345 5,630 5,710
50 to 54 years 10,765 5,270 5,490
55 to 59 years 9,010 4,315 4,690
60 to 64 years 7,755 3,635 4,120
65 to 69 years 5,700 2,720 2,980
70 to 74 years 4,310 1,945 2,365
75 to 79 years 3,610 1,635 1,975
80 to 84 years 2,950 1,250 1,700
85 to 89 years 1,675 585 1,085
90 to 94 years 605 195 410
95 to 99 years 120 30 95
100 years and over 10 0 10
Median age 38.7 37.7 39.6

Guelph – Median age2 of the population

The median age in Guelph was 38.7 years. In comparison, the median age of Ontario was 40.4 years.

Table 6 Canada, Ontario and Guelph – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
Ontario 39.0 40.4
Guelph 37.2 38.7

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families3 in Guelph was 39,770, which represents a change of 5.4% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In Guelph, 72.1% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 12.9% were common-law-couples and 15.0% were lone-parent families.

Guelph – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Ontario, Guelph – 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
Guelph 39,770 28,665 72.1 5,150 12.9 5,955 15.0 5.4

Guelph – Presence of children within couple families

Chart G: Guelph - Presence of children within couple families
Married couples Common-law-couples
with children without children with children without children
14,860 (43.9%) 13,805 (40.8%) 1,905 ( 5.6%) 3,250 ( 9.6%)

Chart G description: Guelph - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census metropolitan area of Guelph, 49.6% 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 Guelph, 88.2% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 11.7% 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.

Guelph – Marital status

In Guelph, 59.2% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (50.3%) or living with a common-law partner (8.9%).

The remaining 40.8% 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, Guelph – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status Guelph Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 116,315 100.0 10,671,050 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 68,895 59.2 6,158,605 57.7 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 58,560 50.3 5,367,400 50.3 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 10,335 8.9 791,210 7.4 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 47,420 40.8 4,512,440 42.3 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 31,645 27.2 2,985,020 28.0 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 3,375 2.9 319,805 3.0 698,245 2.5
Divorced 6,555 5.6 593,730 5.6 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 5,835 5.0 613,880 5.8 1,584,525 5.7

Guelph – Types of private households

There were 54,865 private households4 in Guelph in 2011, a change of 7.3% from 2006. Of these, 29.4% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -1.2% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Ontario, Guelph – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type5 Guelph Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Private households 54,865 100.0 4,887,505 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home6
16,110 29.4 1,402,420 28.7 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home7
16,025 29.2 1,408,120 28.8 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households8 5,430 9.9 535,825 11.0 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 13,690 25.0 1,230,980 25.2 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple-family households9 1,080 2.0 128,660 2.6 268,060 2.0
Other households10 2,530 4.6 181,500 3.7 543,340 4.1

Guelph – Structural type of dwelling

In Guelph, 58.8% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 9.4% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Ontario, Guelph – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling Guelph Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 54,865 100.0 4,887,510 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 32,265 58.8 2,718,880 55.6 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 2,285 4.2 279,470 5.7 646,240 4.9
Row house 6,155 11.2 415,230 8.5 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 5,160 9.4 789,975 16.2 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 5,925 10.8 498,160 10.2 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 2,685 4.9 160,460 3.3 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house11 60 0.1 9,535 0.2 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling12 330 0.6 15,795 0.3 183,510 1.4

Language

Guelph – Mother tongue

Chart J: Guelph - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Chart J description: Guelph - 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 Guelph, 80.4% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 1.3% reported French only, and 17.0% 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, 88.6% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.4% spoke only French and 8.5% 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 Guelph – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 140,405 100.0 140,410 100.0
English 112,820 80.4 124,395 88.6
French 1,840 1.3 545 0.4
Non-official language 23,865 17.0 11,985 8.5
Multiple responses 1,880 1.3 3,485 2.5
Table 12 Guelph – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention13
(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 99.7 99.4 0.3
French 55.4 26.7 28.7
Non-official language 77.2 55.1 22.1

Guelph – Non-official languages

In Guelph, the three most common mother tongues were Italian (2.0%), Polish (1.1%) and Vietnamese (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 Guelph – 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 2,825 11.1 2.0
Polish 1,540 6.1 1.1
Vietnamese 1,540 6.1 1.1
Panjabi (Punjabi) 1,460 5.7 1.0
Chinese, n.o.s. 1,405 5.5 1.0
Spanish 1,345 5.3 1.0
German 1,325 5.2 0.9
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) 1,230 4.8 0.9
Hungarian 1,050 4.1 0.7
Dutch 1,030 4.0 0.7

Guelph – Bilingualism

Table 14 Guelph – 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 8.1 7.4 90.5 5.2
0 to 19 9.3 8.9 89.1 8.0
20 to 44 9.9 9.5 93.7 5.1
45 to 64 6.6 5.0 92.3 5.0
65 and over 4.4 3.3 81.5 3.3
Table 15 Guelph – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 140,410 100.0
English only 127,285 90.7
French only 55 0.0
English and French 11,620 8.3
Neither English nor French 1,450 1.0

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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