How Hamilton, Burlington and other neighbours have changed since the last census

Population

Hamilton (2021): 569,353

Hamilton (2016): 536,917

Increase of 6 per cent from 2016 to 2021. That's 6th highest of the 12 urban areas in the Spectator analysis.

• Dundas saw its population decrease by 1.2 per cent from 2016 to 2021 - from 24,443 to 24,154.

• The population of Glanbrook exploded by 18 per cent from 2016 to 2021 - from 29,861 to 35,023. The populations of Stoney Creek and Flamborough both grew by 10 per cent over the five years.

• Burlington only grew by 2 per cent between 2016 and 2021, to 187,000. Mississauga shrank by 0.5 per cent to 718,000 while neighbouring Brampton continued to burst at the seams. Brampton's population has grown by 133,000 people over the last decade to 656,000. In 1981, Brampton's population was just 152,000.

• The census tract which includes the southeast quadrant of Waterdown below Dundas Street, from Hamilton Street to the Burlington border, added 2,914 people from 2016 to 2021, a population increase of almost 160 per cent.

• 56 per cent of dwellings in amalgamated Hamilton are single detached homes. That's a higher proportion than Burlington (50 per cent). Of the 12 urban areas studied, only Niagara Region (66 per cent) and Winnipeg (58 per cent) have higher rates of single detached homes. Only 7 per cent of dwellings in Montreal are single detached homes.

Age

• The average age in Dundas is almost 48, far above the city's average of 41.5. Glanbrook has the youngest average age at 38.8.

• One in 20 Dundas residents (5.4 per cent) are aged 85 and older.

• There were 120 centenarians in Hamilton, according to the 2021 census - 115 were women and just five were men. Dundas has just 4 per cent of the city's population but 15 per cent of its centenarians.

• The census tract with the youngest average age of 31.1 years is the Glanbrook area bounded by Trinity Church Rd., Binbrook Rd., Regional Rd. 56 and Kirk Rd. Four of the seven Hamilton census tracts with the youngest average age are located in Glanbrook.

• Oddly enough, the census tract with the oldest average age of 57 years is also located in Glanbrook - the area around Twenty Rd. W. between Glancaster Rd. and Upper James St. The census tract is home to the Villages of Glancaster, a large seniors-oriented community.

• The median age of Niagara Region is 46, highest of the 12 urban areas studied. The lowest is Kitchener-Waterloo metropolitan area at 38. The median age in Hamilton is 40.8 years, third-highest.

• All 12 of the urban areas included in the Spectator analysis saw the average age of their populations increase from 2016 to 2021, a sign of the baby boom generation's continuing influence on the country's demographics.

• 3.3 per cent of all people in Burlington are aged 85 and older, the highest proportion of the 12 urban areas studied.

• Nearly one in four people in Niagara Region are seniors aged 65 and older.

Income

• Despite the pandemic, median income in Hamilton actually rose between 2019 and 2020, from $38,400 to $40,400 per person. That was the same in all of the 11 other urban areas examined.

• The census tract in Hamilton with the highest median household income of $151,000 is the Ancaster area west of Lover's Lane, north of Wilson St. to Shaver and Martin roads. In that census tract, one-third of all households earn at least $200,000 per year.

• 21 per cent of Ancaster's workers earn at least $100,000 a year compared to 5.6 per cent in the lower former city.

• The proportion of women earning at least $100,000 per year is three times higher in Ancaster, Dundas and Flamborough than in the former City of Hamilton.

• 13 per cent of Hamilton's children live in poverty.

• 12 per cent of Hamilton's seniors aged 65 and older live in poverty.

• 40 per cent of the people in the area bounded by King St. W., Queen St. S., Hunter St. W. and James St. S. live in poverty. That's the highest rate of poverty of any census tract in the city.

• Just 2 per cent of people in the Dundas area located north of Governor's Rd. and west of the Dundas Valley Conservation Area to Huntingwood Ave. live in poverty.

Covid effects

• Of the 12 urban areas studied, Hamilton had the fourth-highest number of workers lost between 2019 and 2020, when the pandemic set in. Seven of the 12 cities actually added workers from 2019 to 2020. Montreal added an astounding 21,200 workers to its labour force in 2020.

• There were 132,175 CERB recipients in Hamilton in 2020, representing 23 per cent of the total population. That was the fifth-lowest proportion of the 12 urban areas. Toronto was the highest at 27 per cent and Ottawa was the lowest at 19.5 per cent.

• Hamiltonians received $1.2 billion in CERB payments in 2020.

• All 12 urban areas saw large increases in income from government transfers because of COVID supports. In Calgary, the proportion of income from government transfers nearly tripled from 2015 to 2020, going from 5.4 per cent of all income to 13.6 per cent.