Community Profile | Tay Valley Township

Location

Set in the southwest corner of Lanark County due west of Perth, Tay Valley Township is comprised of several small communities joined by a shared heritage and a love for the rural lifestyle.

Located in eastern Ontario, Tay Valley Township covers 554 square kilometers. Ottawa is just over 80 kilometers to the northeast and Peterborough is 98 kilometers to the west. Kingston and the USA border are 70 kilometers to the south.

Driving Directions

Tay Valley Township incorporates the rich history of three former townships, Bathurst, Burgess and South Sherbrooke, all of whom combined to make the Township we have today.

Driving Directions

History and Historic Sites

Whether you are a visitor or resident of the area, you will find it is a Welcome Change of Pace .

History and Historic Sites

Demographics

Population

POPULATION - 2011
	Population
	2011	2006	change	% change
Both genders
Total	5,570	5,635	-65	-1.2
0 to 14	690	880	-190	-21.6
15 to 64	3,565	3,765	-200	-5.3
65 and over	1,315	985	330	33.5
Males
Total	2,750	2,835	-85	-3.0
0 to 14	355	470	-115	-24.5
15 to 64	1,785	1,860	-75	-4.0
65 and over	615	500	115	23.0
Females
Total	2,820	2,800	20	0.7
0 to 14	340	410	-70	-17.1
15 to 64	1,780	1,905	-125	-6.6
65 and over	700	485	215	44.3

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population

Age Characteristics

AGE CHARACTERISTICS - 2021
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	5,925
0 to 4 years	215
5 to 9 years	210
10 to 14 years	255
15 to 19 years	255
20 to 24 years	205
25 to 29 years	220
30 to 34 years	245
35 to 39 years	265
40 to 44 years	225
45 to 49 years	265
50 to 54 years	380
55 to 59 years	605
60 to 64 years	695
65 to 69 years	640	340	300
70 to 74 years	495	245	250
75 to 79 years	300	165	135
80 to 84 years	190	90	100
85 years and over	265	110	155
Median age	57.2	57.2	57.2

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population

Age Distribution

AGE DISTRIBUTION - 2021
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	11.8%	11.8%	10.9%
15 to 64	56.5%	56.2%	56.8%
65 and over	32.1%	32%	32.3%

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population

Marital Status

LEGAL MARITAL STATUS
	Population	Percentage
Population 15 years and up	4,880
Married or living with a Common-Law Partner	3,185	65.3%
Married	2,775	56.9%
Living with a Common-Law Partner	410	8.4%
Not married and not living with a Common-Law Partner	1,695	34.7%
Single	935
Separated	115	2.4%
Divorced	210	4.3%
Widowed	430	8.8%

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population

Family Characteristics

SELECTED FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS - 2011
	Population	Percentage
Total Number of Families:	1,695
Number of Married-Couple Families:	1,335	78.8%
Married couples with Children*:	495
Married Couples without Children*:	840
Number of Common-Law-Couple Families:	200	11.8%
Common-Law-Couples with Children*:	80
Common-Law-Couples without Children*:	125
Number of Lone-Parent Families:	150	8.8%
*Children aged 24 and under at home

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population

Language

LANGUAGE
Selected languages	Mother tongue		Language spoken most often at home
Selected languages	number	%	number	%
Total	5,290	100.0	5,290	100.0
English	5,015	94.8	5,255	99.3
French	125	2.4	10	0.2
Non-official language	135	2.6	10	0.2
Multiple responses	20	0.4	10	0.2

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population

Household Characteristics

OCCUPIED DWELLINGS

Year	Occupied Dwellings	% Change
2006	2085	+9.4
2011	2110	+1.2

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SIZE

Year	Average Household Size
2006	2.70
2011	2.64

Source: 2014 Official Plan Background Study

Workforce Profile

Major Employers of Tay Valley Township

Larger employers in the Township include OMYA, Lanark Lodge, Glen Tay School and Murphy’s Point Provincial Park, etc. Agriculture continues to play an important role in the township’s economy and rural landscape.

Employment Breakdown - Tay Valley Township

EMPLOYMENT BREAKDOWN FOR THE PERIOD OF 2006-2021
Description	2006	2012	2016	2021	Absolute Change	% Change
Professional, scientific and technical services	118	173	155	190	35
Health care and Social Assistance	170	219	345	350	5
Public Administration	80	114	120	170	30
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	11	27	40	45	5
Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services	166	180	90	105	15
Other Services (except public administration)	88	100	180	130	-50
Unclassified	17	28	25	60	35
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation	16	25	70	45	-25
Retail Trade	80	86	280	290	10
Accommodation and Food Services	87	93	195	125	-70
Educational Services	63	64	190	120	-70
Utilities	0	0	35	20	-15
Finance and Insurance	0	0	80	75	-5
Management of Companies and Enterprises	0	0	0	0	0
Construction	224	222	395	335	- 60
Wholesale Trade	80	77	50	55	5
Manufacturing	56	48	205	235	30
Transportation and Warehousing	87	73	140	90	-50
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting	137	121	145	120	- 25
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction	134	108	45	40	- 5
Information and Cultural Industries	<10	<10	25	40	-15
Total	1,618	1,765	2810	2640	-170

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021

Occupational Categories - Tay Valley Township

OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORIES
Occupation	Total	Percentage
Management Occupations	285	9%
Occupations Unique to Primary Industry	195	6%
Business: Finance and Administration Occupations	505	16%
Occupations unique to Processing: Manufacturing and Utilities	185	6%
Trades: Transport and Equipment Operators and related Occupations	645	21%
Natural and Applied Sciences and related Occupations	160	5%
Sales and Service Occupations	695	22%
Occupations in Social Science, Education, Government Service and Religion	225	7%

Source: City-Data, Statistics Canada, 2006 and 2011 Census of Population

Industry Categories - Tay Valley Township

INDUSTRY CATEGORIES
Industry	Total	Percentage
Manufacturing	325	11%
Construction	320	10%
Health care and Social Services	350	11%
Agriculture and other Resource-based industries	270	9%
Retail Trades	425	14%
Educational Services	165	5%
Business Services	540	18%
Other Services	450	15%
Other	240	8%

Source: City-Data, Statistics Canada, 2006 and 2011 Census of Population

Labour Force Activity - Tay Valley Township

LABOUR FORCE ACTIVITY
Labour type	Total	Percentage
Not in Labour Force	2,295	46%
Unemployed	290	5%
Employed	2,350	47%

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population

Lanark County Labour Statistics

LABOUR FORCE STATUS

	Total	Male	Female
Total population aged 15 years and over	54,390	26,350	28,040
In the labour force	34,755	17,680	17,075
Employed	32,120	16,300	15,820
Unemployed	2,640	1,385	1,255
Not in the labour force	19,630	8,675	10,960
Participation rate	63.9	67.1	60.9
Employment rate	59.1	61.9	56.4
Unemployment rate	7.6	7.8	7.3

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population.

Occupation - Lanark County

OCCUPATION

	Total	Male	Female
Total labour force population aged 15 years and over by occupation - National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2011	34,755	17,685	17,075
Occupation - not applicable	650	240	405
All occupations	34,110	17,440	16,670
0 Management occupations	4,055	2,580	1,480
1 Business, finance and administration occupations	5,420	1,415	4,005
2 Natural and applied sciences and related occupations	2,310	1,705	605
3 Health occupations	2,325	400	1,930
4 Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services	3,750	1,115	2,630
5 Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport	860	305	555
6 Sales and service occupations	7,865	3,335	4,535
7 Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations	5,515	5,170	350
8 Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations	650	490	155
9 Occupations in manufacturing and utilities	1,350	925	430

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population

Industry - Lanark County

INDUSTRY

	Total	Male	Female
Total labour force population aged 15 years and over by industry - North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2007	34,760	17,680	17,075
Industry - not applicable	650	240	405
All industries	34,110	17,440	16,670
11 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	715	480	230
21 Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	110	105	0
22 Utilities	285	215	70
23 Construction	3,365	3,025	340
31-33 Manufacturing	3,240	2,080	1,160
41 Wholesale trade	1,125	770	360
44-45 Retail trade	4,650	2,300	2,350
48-49 Transportation and warehousing	1,165	750	420
51 Information and cultural industries	595	385	210
52 Finance and insurance	790	220	570
53 Real estate and rental and leasing	600	315	285
54 Professional, scientific and technical services	2,315	1,250	1,065
55 Management of companies and enterprises	0	0	0
56 Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services	1,520	845	680
61 Educational services	1,960	530	1,425
62 Health care and social assistance	4,650	730	3,920
71 Arts, entertainment and recreation	720	345	375
72 Accommodation and food services	1,805	665	1,140
81 Other services (except public administration)	1,270	625	645
91 Public administration	3,210	1,790	1,425

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population

Place of Work Status

PLACE OF WORK STATUS

	Total	Male	Female
Total employed population aged 15 years and over by place of work status	32,115	16,300	15,820
Worked at home	2,710	1,375	1,330
Worked outside Canada	35	30	0
No fixed workplace address	3,765	2,905	860
Worked at usual place	25,605	11,985	13,620

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population

Economic Profile

Growth

Year	Permanent Residential	Seasonal Residential	Total	Non-Farm Residential	Total
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMIT AND CONSENTS GRANTED
Building Permits Issued				Consents Granted
2010	19	0	19	19	19
2011	13	0	13	12	12
2012	17	0	17	17	17
2013	15	0	15	n/a	n/a
2014	20	0	20	14	14
2015	25	0	25	19	19
2016	18	2	20	17	17
2017	28	4	32	18	18
2018	20	1	21	22	22
2019	19	6	25	20	20
2020	19	5	24	15	15
2021	60	12	72	37	37
2022	33	2	35	28	28
2023	26	3	29	27	27
2024	12	2	14	21	21
2025	26	6	32	12	12
Total			107		298
10-yr mean			28		23.8
5-yr mean			22.2		18

Year	Commercial	Industrial	Institutional	Agricultural	Commercial / Industrial
COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION (ft2) AND CONSENTS
Building Permits Issued			Consents Granted
2010	0	1,079	10,023	0	0
2011	0	0	0	0	1
2012	0	0	2,344	0	1
2013	0	527	3,660	0	0
2014	0	0	0	0	0
2015	0	0	0	0	0
2016	0	0	0	0	0
2017	0	0	33,788	0	0
2018	0	0	0	0	0
2019	0	0	7,945	0	0
2020	400	10,112	1,056	0	0
2021	192	360	0	0	0
2022	9,458	14,403	0	0	0
2023	0	707	106,080	0	0
2024	6,784	0	0	0	0
2025	0	0	9,548	0	0

Income

TAY VALLEY TOWNSHIP: AVERAGE FAMILY INCOME IN 2021

	Income
All Census Families	107,000
Married Couple Families	96,000
Lone Parent Families	68,500

LANARK COUNTY: INCOME OF INDIVIDUALS IN 2021

	Total	Male	Female
Total income in 2021 of population aged 15 years and over	62,905	30,640	32,270
Without income	1,490	775	715
With income	61,420	29,865	31,550
Under $5,000	6,545	3,155	3,390
$5,000 to $9,999	3,095	1,240	1,860
$10,000 to $14,999	4,570	2,010	2,560
$15,000 to $19,999	3,780	1,705	2,080
$20,000 to $29,999	3,774	1,703	2,071
$30,000 to $39,999	3,785	1,810	1,975
$40,000 to $49,999	3,715	1,790	1,930
$50,000 to $59,999	3,345	1,680	1,660
$60,000 to $79,999	3,020	1,595	1,430
$80,000 to $99,999	1,945	1,200	745
$100,000 and over	4,585	3,170	1,410
$100,000 to $124,999	2,440	1,540	1,900
$125,000 and over	2,145	1,630	510
Median income	42,800	50,400	37,200
Average income	51,750	59,850	44,160

Bibliography:

Statistics Canada. 2017. Tay Valley, TP [Census subdivision], Ontario and Ontario [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released November 29, 2017. (Accessed March 27, 2026)

Statistics Canada. 2023. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released November 15, 2023. (Accessed March 27, 2026)