Photo: Marek Koudelka · CC BY-SA 4.0In Salisbury, 25% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 78% of Canadian towns
Set against 11% across Canada’s towns, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Salisbury. Across Salisbury, 3.2% of residents are immigrants. The median age here is 45.2, higher than in 69% of Canadian towns. This New Brunswick town is home to some 2,585 people (July 2025 estimate), in 975 households at the 2021 Census.
Salisbury grew +5% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 53% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across New Brunswick’s towns, by more than +3%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 8%.
More children under 15 than 58% of Canadian towns: 17%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.1% of residents. On average, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Salisbury, 45.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A higher share of one-parent families than 72% of Canadian towns, at 9.7%
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The share of one-person households stands at 26%. One-parent families: 8.2% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Salisbury: 12% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 62% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 24% of adults (typical: 27%). On average, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Salisbury: 75% of households live in a single-detached house, above 66% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
Across Canada’s towns, 25% of households rent their home; in Salisbury, 23%. Newer homes outnumber old: 27% date from 2001 or later, 19% from before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
The midpoint household income is $72,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
At $72,000, the middle household in Salisbury earned 16% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within New Brunswick’s towns, the household in the middle had $73,300. The pandemic’s benefits: 24% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
3.2% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
20% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. The census found that 3% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Salisbury.
Residents with no religion: 39%, a higher share than 62% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Where 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, Salisbury has 3.2%. Indigenous residents: 2.4% of the total. For comparison, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Above 73% of Canadian towns: 18% of residents speak English and French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns, against 4.1% in Salisbury. As a yardstick, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. At home: English 96%, French 1.1%.
Salisbury ranks below 95% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 10%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 11%, beside a typical 9.5%. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
57% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 57% is close to the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 2,532 to 2,642 people, the 20th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages here range from 32.7 in City Commercial Core to 67.7 in Brockville. Next to Salisbury on this scale come Rosetown (44.8), Kinburn (45.2), Lambeth (45.6) and South River Heights (46.2).
The towns around Salisbury are all older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | 2,585 | — | 45.2 | 25% | 3.2% |
| Salisbury | 3,806 | 9.3 km | 46.8 | 21% | 2.7% |
| Petitcodiac | 1,610 | 13.8 km | 45.6 | 26% | 1.4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over New Brunswick’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Salisbury’s residents
What is the population of Salisbury?
About 2,585, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,387 people in Salisbury, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Salisbury?
The median age is 45.2, older than 69% of Canadian towns. 17% are under 15 and 25% 65 or older.
Is Salisbury bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 18% are. Another 0.2% speak only French and 82% only English, and French is the first language of 4.1%.
How diverse is Salisbury?
Immigrants: 3.2% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 3.2%. Indigenous identity: 2.4%.
What religion are people in Salisbury?
39% said they have no religion and 59% that they are Christian; 2.6% named another faith.
Is Salisbury good for families?
17% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 52% of households and one-parent families 9.7%. Schools near Salisbury are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Salisbury?
Half of Salisbury’s households had more than $72,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).