Community Profile

In Severn:

• over 65 percent of businesses are sole entrepreneurships
• 14 percent of all businesses within the Township are in the construction industry
• 90 percent of residents own their own home
• 62 percent of Severn’s population is 15 to 64 years of age
• employers have access to 573,000 labour-force-aged individuals within a 30-kilometre commute
• Lakehead University's Orillia campus and Georgian College’s OrilliaMidland, and Barrie campuses are located only a short drive away
  
• by locating your business in the area, you will have access to the following within 90-minute drive:
  • 108,754 College enrolled students
  • 66, 519 University graduates
  • 12,756 Business/Commerce graduates
  • 10,036 Engineering graduates 

Severn experienced an population percentage change of 8.3 between 2016 to 2021, and has a current population of 14,576 (as of 2021). Severn is anticipated to grow to 17,790 residents by 2051. The average age of the the population is 45.4 years. 

In 2021, there were 5,804 private dwellings in Severn, an increase of 6.9 percent from 2016.

Level of education as a percent (%) of the total population, 2021

Individual and household income, 2021

The top sectors by industry are:

• Agriculture
• Construction
• Tourism/retail

The most common jobs held by residents in Severn include:

• Sales and Service
• Trades, Transport, and Equipment Operators
• Business, Finance, and Administration 

Township of Severn has over 573,000 labour force aged individuals within a 30-kilometer commute.

Of that labour force:

• 12,430 Severn residents are between 15 to 65 years of age
• 19 percent of Severn’s labour force describes themselves as self-employed
  
• 40 percent of Severn residents commute over 30-minutes to their place of work daily
• Severn’s residents are mostly employed in sales and service, followed by trades, transport, and equipment operators.

The most common jobs held by residents in Severn include:

• Sales and Service
• Trades, Transport, and Equipment Operators
• Business, Finance, and Administration 

Highest employment sectors in Severn, 2021

The Lakehead Orillia campus opened in the City of Orillia in 2006 and:

• established the Research Centre for Sustainable Communities in 2014 to provide research support in environmental, political economy and social justice supports to different communities
• has over 1,400 students attend yearly
• is ranked Canada’s #1 Undergraduate Research University (Re$earch Infosource, 2015 and 2016)

Highlights of Georgian College include: 

• 100 percent of Georgian’s programs emphasize practical, hands-on learning and most offer a formal work integrated opportunity, ranging from paid cop-op terms to internships/field placements

• seven campus locations within easy driving distance including campus locations within the City of Orillia and Town of Midland

• 81 percent of Georgian’s alumni found work within six months of graduation

• as of March 2022, Georgian had 4,500 international students from 83 countries speaking more than 35 languages

• co-operative (co-op) and internship students can apply for entrepreneurial co-ops (eCo-op) or innovation co-op (iCo-op) where students can start a business and work with peers from various disciplines to create products or services that meet community needs

• Georgian College is the number one co-op College in Ontario

• Georgian is the first and only college in Canada designated a changemaker college by Ashoka University for their role as a leader in social innovation and changemaking in higher education

• Georgian’s graduate employment rate is 88.1 percent and continues to be above the provincial average for over 20 years

  Georgian College’s Peter B. Moore Advanced Technology Centre

  Georgian College is also home to the Peter B. Moore Centre that: features a $30-million, 56,000 square feet facility with specialized training facility and a commercialization centre includes a 8,000 square foot Centre for Research, Innovation and Commercialization that providing product design, prototyping, market research, analysis, testing and e-business solution development supports more than 800 degree and diploma students with hands-on learning

Lakehead University and Georgian College have collaborated on new degree and diploma programs in the fields of: 

• Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) with an Electrical Engineering Technology Diploma 

• Bachelor of Arts and Science in Environmental Sustainability with an Environmental Technician Diploma 

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Degree with Computer Programmer Diploma 

• relevant programming to meet the evolving needs of the local economy

When travelling to work, the majority of residents commute less than 29 minutes to their place of employment, more specifically:

• 27 percent drive less than 15 minutes
• 33 percent drive 15 to 29 minutes
• 21 percent drive 30 to 44 minutes
• 6 percent drive 45 to 59 minutes
• 13 percent drive over one hour