November 13, 2026

Living in Kemptville, Ontario: A Local Guide for Buyers

Last updated: November 13, 2026

By Nicolas Sigounis, REALTOR®, EXIT Realty Matrix, Brokerage

Kemptville, Ontario is the main town in the Municipality of North Grenville, which belongs to the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. There is no separate Town of Kemptville. Council, taxes, water and transit all come from North Grenville.

So when you read a number on this page, check which area it describes. Some figures cover the whole municipality, farms and hamlets included. Others cover only the built up town. I label each one.

Everything here comes from public sources listed at the end. Where I could not confirm something, I tell you.

How Kemptville Is Governed

North Grenville has no wards. Its council is one mayor and four councillors, and all five are elected by voters across the whole municipality.

Results from the October 26, 2026 election, as posted by the Municipality:

Mayor: Nancy Peckford, acclaimed
Councillors: Debora Wilson, Tanya Deans, John Barclay and Robert Leach

Turnout was 29.08%. The new term runs from November 15, 2026 to November 14, 2030.

What does an at large council mean for you? Any of the five can take your call about your street. No single councillor is assigned to Kemptville.

Population: Town Versus Municipality

Here are three numbers, each for a different area.

North Grenville (the whole municipality, a Statistics Canada census subdivision): 17,964 people in 2021, up 9.2% from 2016, spread over about 352 square kilometres.
Kemptville population centre (the built up area as Statistics Canada draws it): 4,051 people in 2021, up 3.6% from 2016.
Kemptville urban service area (the area the Municipality plans to serve with water and sewer): about 6,000 people, according to the Municipality’s population projection report.

Why do the town figures differ? The census population centre and the Municipality’s service area have different boundaries. Neither is wrong. They measure different things.

The Kemptville population centre skews older. Its 2021 median age was 50.0, and 29.3% of residents were 65 or older.

Growth is expected to continue. The Municipality’s projection report, in its medium scenario, expects North Grenville to reach about 23,000 people by 2031. That is a forecast, not a count.

One more detail: Statistics Canada places North Grenville inside the Ontario part of the Ottawa and Gatineau census metropolitan area. For census purposes, it is part of the Ottawa region.

Water and Sewer in Kemptville

The Municipality supplies drinking water within Kemptville and to some designated subdivisions. Outside those areas, homes generally rely on private wells and septic systems.

Town water

The source is groundwater. The Kemptville system draws from the Nepean Sandstone Aquifer.
The aquifer has natural sodium. The Municipality’s posted results from January 2022 ranged from 34.6 to 46.5 mg/L across four pumping stations. If someone in your home is on a low sodium diet, that is worth a conversation with your doctor.
Water mains are flushed every spring and fall, so expect brief discoloured water at those times.

Water and sewer bills (as of November 2026)

Bills arrive every two months.
Every connected unit pays a monthly base rate, and all water is metered on top of that.
Consumption is billed at $4.01 per cubic metre for the first 24 cubic metres, then $5.01 per cubic metre beyond that.
Council adopted a zero percent rate increase for 2026.

The base rate amount is set in the water rate bylaw. Check the Municipality’s water billing page before you budget.

The sewage plant

Kemptville’s sewage treatment plant is more than 30 years old. The Municipality says a $66 million first phase of expansion is underway. Total provincial funding committed to the project is $46.7 million. Why should a buyer care? The Municipality ties this expansion to supporting new homes and businesses, so it shapes how the town grows.

Rural properties

If the home is outside the serviced area, ask the seller how water and waste are handled. Get any well tested before you firm up an offer. The Municipality hands out well water test kits at the Municipal Centre, 285 County Road 44. Ask for septic records and consider an inspection.

Schools in Kemptville

Four school boards elect trustees in North Grenville:

Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), English public
Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO), English Catholic
Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO), French public
Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre Est (CECCE), French Catholic

English public (UCDSB)

Kemptville Public School, 224 County Road 44: Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6, with Core French and French Immersion streams.
South Branch Elementary School, 2649 Concession Road: also Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6, with the same two streams.
North Grenville District High School, 2605 Concession Road.

English Catholic (CDSBEO)

Holy Cross Catholic School, 521 Clothier Street West.
St. Michael Catholic High School, 2755 Highway 43.

French language schools

École élémentaire et secondaire publique Rivière Rideau (CEPEO) teaches Kindergarten to Grade 12. CEPEO bought a 7 acre parcel of Kemptville Campus for the school. The board lists separate addresses for the elementary school, the daycare and the secondary school, so check the board’s page for the right one.
Académie catholique Notre Dame (CECCE) also teaches Kindergarten to Grade 12, now at 50 Campus Drive. CECCE broke ground in December 2025 on a new building at 2608 Concession Road. The board plans to open it for the 2027 to 2028 school year, with room for 417 students and a 49 space child care centre.

School boundaries can change. Confirm the school for any address directly with the board before you buy.

Kemptville Campus

The campus was once an agricultural college. North Grenville bought it in 2018 from the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario. A not for profit owned by the Municipality now runs it, at arm’s length from council.

The campus describes itself as about 600 acres. Some of its own pages say closer to 630, so treat the size as approximate.

What is there now?

About two dozen organizations, including three schools and three daycares
A sugar bush, greenhouses, trails and an agroforestry centre
The library’s Musical Instrument Lending Library, at the W.B. George Centre

What is coming?

Bell Hall is being converted into 60 affordable homes for seniors and veterans, with more than $24 million in federal funding and $4.75 million from the Municipality. First residents are expected in late 2027.
Académie catholique Notre Dame will move into its new building at 2608 Concession Road, on land CECCE bought from the campus. Its campus leases end in 2027.

In short, a former college is becoming a mix of schools, housing and community space.

Ferguson Forest Centre and Other Outdoor Space

Ferguson Forest Centre

The Centre covers 1,100 acres. That includes a tree nursery, about 800 acres of forest, an arboretum and a dog park. Its 22 kilometres of marked trails are open to the public in every season. Hikers, joggers, horse riders, snowshoers and cross country skiers share them. Dogs must stay on leash. The Municipality lists the trail address as 275 County Road 44.

Riverside Park

This park at 29 Reuben Crescent sits in downtown Kemptville. The Municipality lists an outdoor pool, an outdoor rink, a splash pad, a skate park, a pump track, a fitness station, ball diamonds, soccer fields, and tennis and pickleball courts. The poolhouse washroom stays open year round.

From the park, the Creekside Nature Trail follows Kemptville Creek for 0.7 kilometres. The surface is natural, with rocks, roots and some steep spots.

Indoor ice

The North Grenville Municipal Centre has two ice pads. One has ice all year. The other has ice from September to March and becomes floor space in the warmer months. The main arena seats 1,620.

In 2023, ParticipACTION named North Grenville Ontario’s Most Active Community in its Community Challenge. The prize money helped pay for the fitness station at Riverside Park.

Downtown, the Library and Health Care

Downtown

The Downtown Kemptville BIA covers the commercial properties from Clothier Street down Prescott Street to Elizabeth Street. Its formal name is the Old Town Kemptville BIA. It promotes the area and runs events, including Kemptville Buskerfest. I would walk Prescott Street on a Saturday and see which shops fit your routine.

Library

The North Grenville Public Library’s Kemptville branch is at 1 Water Street. It is open seven days a week from September to May.

Hospital

Kemptville District Hospital, 2675 Concession Road, runs an emergency department open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Ask yourself how much it is worth to you to have it close by.

Events Worth Knowing

Kemptville Farmers’ Market: Sundays from May 10 to October 25 in 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in the B&H Grocer parking lot at 200 Sanders Street.
Jack Frost Fair: the market’s winter edition, Sunday, November 15, 2026, at the same lot. The listing shows both 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. as start times, so check before you go.
Rotary Santa Claus Parade: Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. The Rotary Club of Kemptville runs it with the Municipality, and it includes a food drive and toy collection.

Dates change from year to year. Check each organizer’s page.

Getting Around (as of November 2026)

Highway 416

Highway 416 passes through North Grenville, with an interchange at County Road 43. The Ministry of Transportation has had improvement work under way at that interchange.

NGtransit

North Grenville runs its own bus service, NGtransit.

On demand rides anywhere inside the municipality, booked by phone, online or in the Blaise app. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.
A weekday commuter route between the North Grenville Municipal Centre and Limebank Station on Ottawa’s O Train Line 2. Morning departures from Kemptville are at 6:25 and 7:40 a.m. The Municipality puts a typical trip at about 30 minutes.
The adult fare is $5 a ride.

Seats must be booked ahead, even on the commuter route. Check the Municipality’s posted schedule for the latest evening times.

What the census shows

For North Grenville as a whole, the 2021 census found:

87.4% of commuters drove themselves to work, and another 7.1% rode as passengers.
0.3% took public transit.
The average commute was 28.5 minutes, down from 33.2 minutes in 2016.

A caution: the 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, when many people worked from home. Those figures came before NGtransit’s commuter route existed, too. Treat them as a snapshot, not a forecast.

What would I do? Drive your real commute on a weekday morning before you buy, and price out the NGtransit option if you work near the O Train.

Language

In North Grenville as a whole, 22.9% of residents reported in 2021 that they could hold a conversation in both English and French. In 2016, the figure was 21.6%. English only was reported by 76.9%. Two French school boards also serve local families.

Property Taxes in Kemptville, Ontario

Kemptville properties are taxed by North Grenville. Each bill has three parts: a municipal rate, a county rate and a provincial education rate, applied to your MPAC assessment.

How billing works, according to the Municipality:

The interim bill is mailed in the first week of March and due at the end of March.
The final bill is mailed in the first week of June. The first instalment is due at the end of June and the second at the end of September.

For 2026, Council approved a municipal residential tax rate increase of 1.9%.

Rates change every year. Use the Municipality’s property tax page and its tax estimator for any property you are considering.

What homes have actually sold for in Kemptville

Here is what the MLS shows for freehold homes in the Kemptville community that sold between August 15 and November 13, 2026. That is 28 sales. Across all of North Grenville, including the rural area, there were 79 sales with a median of $590,000.

Average sold price: about $541,000. Median sold price: $575,500.
Sold prices ran from $159,000 to $770,000, and the low end is a vacant land sale.
Average of 38 days on market. Median of 35 days.
Homes sold for about 98% of their list price on average.
Detached homes were 14 of the 28 sales. Bungalows led at 17 sales, followed by two storeys at 7.

The median is the middle sale. Half of the homes sold for less and half sold for more. Three months is a short window, so treat this as a snapshot and not a forecast. If you want the numbers for a specific street or style of home, ask me.

Source: MLS data through REALM, freehold sales in Kemptville sold August 15 to November 13, 2026, pulled November 13, 2026.

Who Kemptville Suits

The evidence points to these strengths:

A town with a 24 hour emergency department
Schools from all four boards, including two Kindergarten to Grade 12 French schools
Town water and sewer inside the serviced area
A large public forest with year round trails
A local bus with a weekday link to Ottawa’s O Train

And these things to weigh:

The sewage plant expansion is still under way.
The town skews older, with a 2021 median age of 50.0 in the population centre.
Most commuters in North Grenville drove to work in 2021.
Rural properties outside the service area need well and septic checks.

So ask yourself this. Would you trade a longer drive for a town with its own hospital, forest and main street?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Kemptville its own municipality?

No. Kemptville is the main community in the Municipality of North Grenville, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.

What is the population of Kemptville, Ontario?

The Kemptville population centre had 4,051 people in the 2021 census. North Grenville as a whole had 17,964. The Municipality puts its Kemptville urban service area at about 6,000 people.

Does North Grenville have wards?

No. The mayor and four councillors are all elected at large.

Do Kemptville homes have town water?

Inside the serviced area, yes. The Municipality supplies water within Kemptville and to some designated subdivisions. Outside it, expect private systems and confirm for each property.

Which French schools serve Kemptville?

Rivière Rideau (CEPEO, French public) and Académie catholique Notre Dame (CECCE, French Catholic). Both teach Kindergarten to Grade 12.

What is Kemptville Campus today?

A former agricultural college, owned by North Grenville since 2018 and run by a municipal not for profit. It holds schools, daycares, trails and other community groups, and Bell Hall is becoming affordable housing for seniors and veterans.

Can I take transit from Kemptville to Ottawa?

Yes, on weekdays. NGtransit runs a booked commuter route between the North Grenville Municipal Centre and Limebank Station on O Train Line 2.

When are property taxes due in North Grenville?

At the end of March, the end of June and the end of September. Check the Municipality’s property tax page for exact dates.

One question for you

What would you want to be able to walk to from your front door in Kemptville?

Sigounis Properties. We Know Strategy.
If you want to talk it through, reach out to me here.