Photo: Verne Equinox · CC BY 3.0Cardwell is older than 88% of Canadian towns: a median age of 51.2
93% of households live in a single-detached house, against 64% across Canada’s towns. With about 1,538 residents in July 2025, Cardwell counted 620 households at the 2021 Census. Residents aged 15 to 24: nearly a tenth of the total. The town has fewer immigrants than 91% of Canadian towns, at 2.5%.
What stands out about the people of Cardwell
Older than most towns
Cardwell’s median age is 51.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 22% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Cardwell changed by +4% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 53% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 10% higher again.
Above 69% of Canadian towns: 22% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
55–59 is the most common age band: 12% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Canada’s towns. The census found that 14% of residents are under 15 in Cardwell. Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 74% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns, against 29% in Cardwell. In Cardwell, 6.5% of households are one-parent families.
53% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 70% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 22% of adults, beside a typical 27%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Cardwell, the census puts common-law partners at 11%.
Fewer renter households than 94% of Canadian towns: 8.1%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
14% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Across Canada’s towns, 25% of households rent their home. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
$62,400 a year: the median household income
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Cardwell’s, at $62,400, is 27% lower. The median across New Brunswick’s towns is $73,300. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 26% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 56% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The share of residents without Canadian citizenship trails 88% of Canadian towns: 1.1%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%.
35% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 51% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents make up 1.4%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents are rarer here than in 73% of Canadian towns.
Cardwell: 13% of residents speak English and French, above 68% of Canadian towns
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 1.5%; Cardwell has 3.2%. Against that, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 94% of Canadian towns, at 11%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 13%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
In work on census day: 52% of adults
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 22% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 52% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The towns around Cardwell are all younger
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardwell | 1,538 | — | 51.2 | 22% | 2.5% |
| Sussex Corner | 1,532 | 14.8 km | 50 | 29% | 3.1% |
| Studholm | 3,668 | 15.2 km | 47.2 | 23% | 3.5% |
| Sussex | 4,994 | 15.5 km | 48 | 27% | 4.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of New Brunswick’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
Questions about Cardwell’s residents
Is Cardwell bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 13% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 87% speak only English and 0% only French; 3.2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Cardwell?
Immigrants: 2.5% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 1.4%. Indigenous identity: 1.4%.
What religion are people in Cardwell?
35% said they have no religion and 65% that they are Christian; 0% named another faith.
Is Cardwell good for families?
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 56% of households and one-parent families 6.5%. Schools near Cardwell are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cardwell?
Half of Cardwell’s households had more than $62,400 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Cardwell?
About 1,538, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,401 people in Cardwell, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Cardwell?
The median age is 51.2. 14% are under 15 and 22% 65 or older.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). 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).