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Census Atlas profile

Who lives in Peterborough.

128,624 people lived in the Peterborough census metropolitan area in 2021. 8.7% were immigrants, ranking 31 of 41 metropolitan areas, and 7.3% belonged to a visible minority group.

Data 2021 CensusNext update Census 2026 (from Feb. 2027)

Population, 2021128,624+5.7% since 2016
Immigrants8.7%1.0% arrived 2016–2021
Visible minority7.3%
Median household income (2020)$79,000rent $1,120/mo
Map

Peterborough, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

30 census tracts, small areas of about 2,500 to 8,000 people. Pick a topic, then click a tract for its profile or compare two.

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Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population; boundaries: Statistics Canada 2021 boundary files. Adapted from Statistics Canada. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

Profile

Who lives in Peterborough, in charts.

Visible minority groups

Share of the population in private households. Statistics Canada term, defined in the Employment Equity Act.

GroupSharePeople
South Asian2.4%2,965
Black1.2%1,530
Chinese0.8%1,040
Filipino0.5%645
Southeast Asian0.5%580
Arab0.4%505
Latin American0.4%500
Korean0.3%350
Multiple visible minorities0.3%320
West Asian0.2%305
Visible minority, n.i.e.0.2%285
Japanese0.1%145

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

Languages spoken most often at home

Non-official languages, single responses.

GroupSharePeople
Arabic0.2%315
Mandarin0.2%275
Gujarati0.1%180
Spanish0.1%175
Korean0.1%175
Hindi0.1%165
Polish0.1%150
Vietnamese0.1%130
Punjabi (Panjabi)0.1%125
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)0.1%125

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

Top 15 ethnic or cultural origins

People can report more than one origin, so shares add up to more than 100%.

GroupSharePeople
English33.3%41,910
Irish30.4%38,330
Scottish25.1%31,635
Canadian16.6%20,965
German9.1%11,445
French9.1%11,440
Dutch5.9%7,430
British Isles5.3%6,660
Italian4.0%4,980
Polish2.8%3,555
Welsh2.4%3,035
Caucasian (White)2.4%2,985
First Nations (North American Indian)2.2%2,730
Ukrainian1.9%2,430
European1.9%2,375

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

Immigrants: top places of birth

Share of all residents born in each place (immigrants only).

GroupSharePeople
United Kingdom24.3%2,670
United States of America7.1%775
India5.7%630
Germany5.1%560
Netherlands4.6%510
Philippines4.2%460
Poland3.6%400
China3.4%375
Syria2.6%285
Korea, South2.2%240
Viet Nam2.1%230
Italy2.0%215

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

Recent immigrants (2016 to 2021): top places of birth

Share of all residents.

GroupSharePeople
Syria21.9%285
India15.0%195
Philippines11.9%155
United Kingdom5.4%70
United States of America5.0%65
Mexico3.1%40
Sri Lanka3.1%40
Nigeria2.7%35
China2.7%35
Afghanistan2.3%30

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

Immigrants by period of arrival

CategoryShare of residents
Before 19803.8%
1980 to 19901.0%
1991 to 20001.0%
2001 to 20101.3%
2011 to 20150.6%
2016 to 20211.0%

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

Immigrants admitted 1980 to 2021, by category

Share of residents.

CategoryShare of residents
Economic immigrants46.0%
Immigrants sponsored by family32.6%
Refugees20.0%
Other immigrants1.5%

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population.

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About this data. Adapted from Statistics Canada. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product. Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. Counts are randomly rounded to multiples of 5 or 10 and very small areas are suppressed by Statistics Canada; we show those as “not available”. Ethnic or cultural origin allows several answers per person, so shares add up to more than 100%. Origin and language data describe ancestry and language use; they are not a measure of who is Canadian. These pages describe what happened, using official statistics. They do not predict policy, estimate anyone’s chances, or rank communities. See methods and definitions.