Big turnaround in regional population growth in 2021 census

Jeff Green | Feb 16, 2022

There are just about 10% more people living in Frontenac County than there were 5 years ago.

The first batch of 2021 census data dropped last week, and the population of Frontenac County is now 29,295, up from 26,682 in 2016.

The increase reverses a trend of stagnant growth stretching back to 2006. Between 2006 and 2011 the population of Frontenac County decreased by about 300 people (1.1%), and then it increased by the same amount in 2016.

The upshot is that there were 26,686 permanent residents in Frontenac County in 2016, and 29,255 in 2021, an increase of 2569 people (9.8%).

South Frontenac is home to almost 70% of the Frontenac County population, which is over 20,000 for the first time (20,188), an increase of more than 1500 people (8.3%) from 2016.

Central Frontenac saw its population dip slightly in both 2011 and 2016, but in 2021 it is up by 515 (12%) to 4892.

The North Frontenac population is up over 300 (20%) to 2285.

The population of Frontenac Islands went up by 170 (9.7%) to 1930.

The City of Kingston, which grew by only 435 between 2011 and 2016, has also rebounded dramatically over the last five years. It is up by 8,500 people (7%) to a population of 132,485.

The Frontenac Census Division, which includes Frontenac County and Kingston, now has a population of over 160,000, a 7.5% increase since 2016.

(Note – in 2011, a population survey replaced the traditional mandatory census process which had been in place for over 100 years, so the numbers from that year are not considered to be as accurate as other census years. The census returned in 2016).

Lennox and Addington County saw a more modest population increase of 5.4%, to just over 45,000.

This includes an increase of 9.3% in Addington Highlands, where the population is up by 215 to 2534.

Stone Mills saw a marginal increase of 1.6%, bringing the population to 7,826.

The Province of Ontario, as a whole, saw a population growth of 5.8.

All of this does not quite make Frontenac County a crowded place. The population density in South Frontenac is 21.3 people per square kilometre. The density in Central Frontenac is 4.9 people per square kilometre and in North Frontenac and Addington Highlands it is just 2.0.

By comparison, the density in Kingston is 294 people per square kilometre and in Toronto it is 4428.

So, it appears there is still room for more Torontonians to migrate to rural Frontenac.

If Frontenac County residents were as packed in as people are in Toronto, they would all fit in 7 square kilometres, leaving the other 4,000 square kilometres that make up the county completely free for the deer, foxes, coyotes, rabbits and squirrels to enjoy.

And the moles, voles, and mice, beavers and bears as well, don’t forget them.