Younger than 98% of Canadian towns: half of Paisley is under 31.7
62% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Higher than in nearly four fifths of Canadian towns: 35% of residents are immigrants. Paisley had 2,897 residents in 1,075 households at the 2021 Census. Across Paisley, 13% of households rent their home.
What stands out about the people of Paisley
Younger than most towns
Paisley’s median age is 31.7; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 23% are under 15 and 2.8% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A neighbourhood people move to
A year before the census, 23% of residents lived elsewhere, 2.1 times the typical share; over five years, 80% moved. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A smaller share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of Canadian towns: 2.8%
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 17% of residents, 2.7 times the share across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. The share of children under 15 stands at 23%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Paisley, 31.7. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Paisley ranks below 79% of Canadian towns on one-person households: 19%
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.7 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. One-parent families account for 5.6%.
Paisley sits above 81% of Canadian towns for married residents 15 and over (56%)
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: nearly a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. As a reference point, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 14% of the total.
48% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 71% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. As a reference point, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Household income, middle of the range: $120,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Paisley had $120,000 before tax, 40% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Alberta’s towns, the median household income is $92,200. The pandemic’s benefits: 35% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 96% of Canadian towns, at 23%
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 45%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most immigrants were born in Asia (61%) or in Africa (15%). For comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Residents without Canadian citizenship are more common here than in 85% of Canadian towns.
Paisley sits above 83% of Canadian towns for visible minority residents (47%)
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (4.9%), Sikh (3%) and Hindu (2.6%). The wider picture: 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are common here: 39%, more than in 62% of Canadian towns. At 3.3%, Indigenous residents sit close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
58% have English as their mother tongue; 6.9% also speak French
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 74%, French 0.9%. On residents whose mother tongue is French, 1.6% here is much the same as across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 50%, a higher share than 84% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 3.5% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
An employment rate of 81%
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 81%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Youngest by rank: 2nd of 41 towns of 2,857 to 2,938 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Between McKernan (30) and Parry Sound, Unorganized, Centre Part (61.2) lies the rest of the group. By median age, Paisley sits among McKernan (30), Carrington (32.3) and Westmount (34.4).
5 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Paisley
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paisley | 2,897 | — | 31.7 | 2.8% | 35% |
| Rutherford | 12,808 | 1.7 km | 35.6 | 11% | 40% |
| Allard | 8,148 | 2.0 km | 32.4 | 4.9% | 49% |
| Chappelle | 14,815 | 2.0 km | 31.7 | 3.6% | 42% |
| Callaghan | 4,180 | 2.0 km | 33.3 | 7.1% | 38% |
| MacEwan | 6,102 | 2.4 km | 36.9 | 12% | 38% |
| Mactaggart | 3,603 | 2.7 km | 38.4 | 15% | 38% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. There is no census profile for a neighbourhood, so we add up the dissemination areas inside it. Each count is a sum of Statistics Canada’s rounded counts, the median age and income come from the published groups, and with 2016’s areas drawn differently there is no 2016 count.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Paisley’s residents
How diverse is Paisley?
35% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 47% belong to a visible minority and 3.3% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Paisley?
49% are Christian and 39% have no religion; 12% follow another religion.
Is Paisley good for families?
Under 15: 23% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 63% of households. One-parent families: 5.6%. Schools near Paisley are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Paisley?
The median household in Paisley took in $120,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Paisley?
The 2021 Census counted 2,897 people in Paisley.
What is the average age in Paisley?
A median age of 31.7, younger than 98% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 23%, and people 65 and over 2.8%.
Is Paisley bilingual?
6.9% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0.2% speak French only and 92% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.6%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).