Households, Families and Living Arrangements
Census data from 2001 gives us a more detailed view of Ottawa's population and how we live in comparison to other large cities in Canada. This information allows us to explore the implications of our population's composition, preferences and propensities on how we plan our city.
This issue of Ottawa Counts looks at Ottawa's households, and how we compare to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
The statistics are sometimes surprising in that they show Ottawa to be much less conservative and conventional than is widely assumed. Today's Ottawa is a cosmopolitan and diverse metropolis whose population is demanding a widening range of housing options to suit their tastes and living arrangements.
In our comparison with other cities, data is presented for the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa-Gatineau Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), and for the five other CMAs.
A Young City
| We are all familiar with the well documented trend of Canada's "ageing population". Often overlooked, however, is that this ageing is unevenly distributed between cities and rural areas. In particular, large urban areas like Ottawa tend to have younger populations. Nationally, 45.8% of the population is under 35 years old. Among the country's large urban areas, Ottawa is among the youngest with 47.1% of our population under 35. Nationally, 13% of the population is aged 65 or over, but only 11.5% of Ottawa's population are seniors. |
Percentage of population 
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Immigration keeps Ottawa young
Migration is largely to credit for keeping Ottawa's population young. Between 1987 and 2002, net migration to Ottawa added 131,816 people to the city's population, representing 75% of our population growth for that period. This makes Ottawa second only to Toronto in the province of Ontario, and fourth in the country, as a destination for immigrants.
Over those 15 years, 94% of the migrants who settled in Ottawa were under the age of 44 and 30% were aged between 18 and 24. Ottawa attracts people largely because of its employment opportunities. Between 1997 and 2002 employment in Ottawa grew by 15.1%, making us the third-strongest metropolitan job market in Canada.
Net migration to Ottawa - Source: Statistics Canada
More women than men
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Ottawa has 5.2% more women than men, according to the 2001 Census, considerably more than the national average of 2%. We also lead the other cities in percentage of women aged 35-44, the group most likely to be in the first-time homebuyer segment.
The fact that Ottawa has a young population that is more predominantly female than most other major cities could mean that Ottawa has a higher propensity for lower maintenance housing, both now and in the longer term. Market studies suggest that, due to costs and professional or family-related time constraints, female and younger homebuyers are less inclined to opt for larger and maintenance intensive homes. |
Percentage more women than men 
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Our households are among the most diverse of any large urban centre, second only to Montreal. We have the second-smallest percentage of traditional families, the second-highest percentage of common-law couples, and the third-highest percentage of one-person households. Only 30.2% of households in the City of Ottawa are married couples with children ("traditional families"). The percentage for Ottawa-Gatineau drops to 29.1%, the second lowest after Montreal. We're tied with Vancouver for most people living in "non-family households"1 (15.2%), and in same-sex couples (0.9% of all couples in Ottawa-Gatineau). Our young adults move in together sooner than most other cities, at an age when they can typically afford a small dwelling. In Ottawa- Gatineau, common-law couples make up 7.4% of households aged 15-24, tied with Edmonton and behind Montreal (9.1%) but ahead of Toronto (2.7%), Vancouver (4.3%) and Calgary (6.9%). Common-law couples are only more prevalent in Montreal (where they make up 23.1% of all families) than in Ottawa-Gatineau (14.5%). In the City of Ottawa, 11.2% of all families are common-law couples. Over one-quarter of households in the City of Ottawa are people living alone (26.3%). We also show the third-highest percentage of seniors 75 and over living alone (37.3%). The second largest household type in Ottawa is those with two people, which accounts for 32.5% of all the city's households. We are second to Calgary among the nation's largest cities in this category. ¹ A non-family household is defined by Statistics Canada as being composed of a single person or a group of unrelated persons who occupy the same dwelling. |
Percentage of families with 
Percentage of household
Common-law couples as
Percentage considered
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The City of Ottawa leads the nation's large cities in the percentage of families with no kids at home (36.2%). We also have the second-smallest percentage of kids over 24 still living at home. |
Percentage of families 
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Fewer, and younger, children
Our families tend to be smaller than in other major Canadian cities. Among families with children, Ottawa-Gatineau has the second highest percentage of one-child families after Montreal, and the second lowest percentage of families with three or more children, also after Montréal. Data for the City of Ottawa is almost identical. Of families with children in Ottawa, 42.6% have only one child, while 40.2% have two.
Among Ottawa families with children, 61.8% have children who are all aged under 18. This puts Ottawa second after Calgary for having the youngest kids at home.
Implications for Housing
Ottawa households are smaller than the national average, have an above-average number of empty nests, and families have fewer and younger children than in most other major cities. Ottawa has the second lowest average number of persons per household among major cities, which is statistically very significant.
This suggests that Ottawa needs a wide variety of housing types and, in general, needs to accommodate smaller households.
The city's housing stock will be explored in the next issue of Ottawa Counts.
Next Issue: Ottawa's housing
A look at new Census information and what it tells us about Ottawa's housing choices, along with a comparison to other large urban centres.
For mor details or if you have comments or suggestions about Ottawa Counts, please contact:
Ian Cross
Program Manager
Research and Projections
Development Services
City of Ottawa
Tel.: 613-580-2424, ext. 21595
Email: ian.cross@ottawa.ca