Official Canadian Data
Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie, Ontario
Economic region · Population 1,664,214
18 Sources
Updated September 02, 2026
1.7M
Population
$91,000
Median Income (CAD) · ON provincial
$84,000 national
6.4%
Unemployment
$1,197B
Provincial GDP (CAD)
886,600
Total Employment
43%
Bachelor's+ · ON provincial
39% national
Demographics & Population
Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
Household Income
Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
Median Household Income
$91,000
Poverty Rate (LIM-AT)
12.7%
Low Income Measure, after tax · Ontario 2024 · Canada: 12.5%
Median Income Comparison (CAD)
Ontario$91,000
National$84,000
Community Snapshot
Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
1,664,214
Population (2025 estimate)
5,929,250
Total Dwellings (2021 Census, ON provincial)
Total Employment
886,600
Unemployment Rate StatCan LFS 2024 annual
6.4% +1.0 pts YoY
Avg Annual Wage Ontario (provincial), SEPH 2025
$69,663 CAD
Industry Sectors
10
Age Distribution
0-14: 258,439
15-54: 912,420
55-64: 200,708
65+: 292,647
15-54: 912,420
55-64: 200,708
65+: 292,647
Visible Minority Composition
"Visible minority" is a Statistics Canada classification defined by the Employment Equity Act and refers to "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." "Not a visible minority" is the complement to the total visible minority population.
Top 6 groups shown; smaller groups are included in totals but not charted.
Indigenous Identity
2.8% identify as Indigenous
Indigenous identity per Statistics Canada Census 2021 (Table 98-10-0293): First Nations (North American Indian), Métis, and Inuk (Inuit), plus multiple and other Indigenous responses. Counts use census random rounding, so categories may not sum exactly to the total.
Ontario's median household income sits 8% above the Canadian national median across 1,664,214 residents with a senior-skewed age structure (65+: 17.6%, 0-14: 15.5%).
Ontario has 5,929,250 total dwellings and has experienced a population change of 5.8% since the previous census.
Source: Statistics Canada 2021 Census of Population via CensusMapper.ca
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the Canadian median.
- Aging population: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); succession and senior-services demand.
- Educated workforce: Bachelor's+ attainment of 43% supports knowledge-economy positioning.
Educational Attainment
Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0130 · Ontario province-wide (ages 25-64) · Reference year 2025
94%
High School+
Canada: 93%
+1.0 pts
43%
Bachelor's+
Canada: 39%
+4.0 pts
16%
Graduate+
Canada: 14%
+2.0 pts
Economy & Industry
Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey · Provincial GDP
$1,197B
Provincial Gross Domestic Product (CAD)
Source: Statistics Canada · Provincial Economic Accounts
886,600
Total Employment
$69,663
Avg Wage (CAD) · provincial
$91,000
Median Income (ON prov.)
886,600
Total Employment
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey
$69,663
Average Annual Wage (CAD) · Ontario (provincial)
Source: Statistics Canada · Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (14-10-0223), 2025. Payroll employees only. Published for provinces and territories; StatCan publishes no economic-region earnings.
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 138,700 workers (18.1% of the tracked sectors). tracked sectors", which claimed a regional, sector-weighted figure. It is neither: it is the SEPH all-industries aggregate for the parent province. ##}}
- Average wage: $69,663 CAD for payroll employees across Ontario in 2025. StatCan publishes these earnings for provinces and territories only, so the provincial figure stands in for the region.
- Diversified base: Top 5 sectors are Manufacturing, Wholesale and retail trade, Health care and social assistance, Professional, scientific and technical services, and Educational services.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey.
Housing & Rental Market
Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133 (Rents) - Table 34-10-0127 (Vacancy) - Reference year 2025
Note: figures are single-year vintages. StatCan and CMHC do not publish ACS-style rolling 5-year housing averages, the long-form Census of Population every 5 years (2016, 2021) plays the equivalent precision role.
CMHC Average Rents by Bedroom
Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133 - 2025
22.2%
Annual Rent (2BR) as % of Median Household Income - Affordable
30% threshold = "cost-burdened" (CMHC / HUD convention). Computed from $1,683 average 2BR rent × 12 / $91,000 household income.
Bachelor
$1,155/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,490/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,683/mo
3+ Bedroom
$1,890/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,275/mo), rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Note: CMHC Rental Market Survey figures cover the metropolitan area (CMA/CA) within this economic region, not the full region. CMHC surveys urban centres only.
Vacancy & Housing Stock
Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0127 · CMHC Rental Market Survey
3.9%
CMHC Vacancy Rate (apartment structures of 6+ units)
Near the 3% balanced-market benchmark.
Total Dwellings Ontario (provincial)
5,929,250
Avg 2BR Rent
$1,683/mo
Median Home Value Ontario (provincial)
$700,000
Vacancy Rate
3.9%
Key Takeaways
- Affordable rental market: Annual 2BR rent eats 22.2% of median household income, well below the 30% cost-burdened threshold; supports talent attraction.
Source: CMHC RMS rent data and StatCan median household income.
Broadband & Connectivity
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
Broadband Coverage
Source: ISED National Broadband Data · share of locations with 50/10 Mbps available · Ontario province-wide
Moderate broadband coverage across Ontario, some underserved areas. Statistics on 50/10 Mbps availability are published for locations without a breakdown below the province, so this is the province-wide share and not this region's own.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient: industries where Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie over- or under-indexes vs. the Canadian national average
Economic-region employment basis: NAICS supersector Location Quotients from Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), computed vs. the national employment share. The spider chart plots 9 broad supersectors for cross-region comparability; the ranked list shows every concentrated sector, including resource industries not among the chart's fixed axes.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Manufacturing concentrates at 1.77x the national norm.
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), NAICS supersector employment.
Workforce & Labour
Labour force composition from Statistics Canada population estimates and employment data
Labour Summary
Source: StatCan LFS + Population Estimates
Total Employment
886,600
Avg Annual Wage Ontario (provincial), SEPH 2025
$69,663 CAD
Working Age Pop
1,113,128
Youth (0-14)
258,439
Seniors (65+)
292,647
Dependency & Aging
Source: StatCan population estimates
18%
Seniors (65+) Share
Senior population exceeds youth, aging workforce risk. Succession planning and talent attraction recommended.
Youth / Senior Ratio
88:100
Aging Workforce
Source: StatCan 17-10-0150 · Population estimates by economic region, age
18%
55-64 of working-age (15-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0416 NOC 2021 broad categories (2025 - province-level)
Management / Professional
59.9%
Sales & Service
21%
Trades / Transport
13.4%
Natural Resources
1.1%
Manufacturing
4.5%
Bars scaled 2x for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 8,227,000 employed workers across Ontario. Economic Region-level occupation data is not published by StatCan; this provincial breakdown is the closest available proxy.
Commute
Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0458
Mean Commute 1.8 min above national avg
25.5 min
Work From Home
Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0456
Worked At Home vs 24.3% national
25.2%
Census 2021 long-form: percent of employed labour force aged 15+ whose place of work is "at home".
Local Institutions
Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0277 · Postsecondary Enrolments
Named post-secondary institutions
Total students enrolled in the 2023/2024 academic year (StatCan Table 37-10-0277).
41,901students
31,626students
22,611students
Enrolment figures from Statistics Canada Table 37-10-0277 (2023/2024 academic year). Coverage limited to institutions in the ExecutivePulse crosswalk; smaller community colleges may not be listed.
Key Takeaways
- Working-age base: 1,113,128 residents aged 15-64 (66.9% of population) form the labour pool.
- Employment rate: 80% of working-age residents are employed (886,600 workers).
- Succession risk: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); plan for retirements alongside attraction strategy.
- Educated workforce: Bachelor's+ attainment of 43% supports knowledge-economy positioning.
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 + Labour Force Survey.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 18 Canadian data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie's industrial base is anchored by Manufacturing with 138,700 workers, followed by Wholesale and retail trade and Health care and social assistance. The region skews older: seniors outnumber youth, which has implications for succession planning and workforce transition strategy.
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
All data from official Canadian government APIs. Updated from official Canadian government data.
Statistics Canada Census 20212021
StatCan Labour Force Survey2025
StatCan LFS Unemployment Rate (14-10-0393)2024
StatCan SEPH Average Weekly Earnings (14-10-0223, provincial)2025
StatCan GDP Tables2024
CMHC Rental Market2025
CRTC Broadband Data2025
CensusMapper.ca2021
StatCan Education (37-10-0130)2025
StatCan Population (17-10-0150)2025
StatCan Postsecondary Enrolments (37-10-0277)2024
StatCan Top Occupations (14-10-0416)2025
StatCan Commute (98-10-0457/0458)2021
StatCan Place of Work (98-10-0455/0456)2021
StatCan Low Income (11-10-0135)2024
StatCan Visible Minority (98-10-0352)2021
StatCan Indigenous Identity (98-10-0293)2021
StatCan Population and Dwelling Counts (98-10-0001, provincial)2021
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie, Ontario, from Statistics Canada.
What is the population of Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie, Ontario?
1,664,214 (Statistics Canada, Population Estimates, Table 17-10-0150).
What is the median household income in Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie, Ontario?
$91,000 (Statistics Canada, Census 2021, Ontario provincial).
What is the unemployment rate in Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie, Ontario?
6.4% (Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0393).
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