Photo: Original uploader was Rangeley at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.027% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
12% of households are one-parent families, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns. The census found that 42% of households rent their home in Sussex. The median age in the town is 48, higher than in four fifths of Canadian towns. The town is home to some 4,994 people (July 2025 estimate), in 2,065 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Sussex
Many older residents
27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 85% of Canadian towns; 7.5% are 80 or over, and 38% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Sussex changed by +4% from 2016 to 2021, behind 52% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 12%.
Above 66% of Canadian towns: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The largest age band is 60–64: 7.9% of residents. The wider picture: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. On children under 15, 16% here is much the same as across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Sussex, 48. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
One-person households make up 38% in Sussex, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
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.
The typical household size is 2.1 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The share of one-person households across Canada’s towns is 27%.
Common-law partners: 8.4%, a lower share than 69% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, 46% of residents 15 and over are married; in Sussex, 43%. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of households in single-detached houses than 61% of Canadian towns, at 55%
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
Older homes outnumber new: 38% predate 1961, 18% date from 2001 or later. Elsewhere, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Sussex sits close to the norm on households in buildings of five or more storeys: 0.2%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
$54,800 a year: the median household income
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Sussex had $54,800 before tax, 36% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across New Brunswick’s towns is $73,300. The pandemic’s benefits: 24% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 13% in Sussex, more than in 66% of Canadian towns
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
Recent arrivals are 56% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year across Canada’s towns is 11%. In Sussex, 4.5% of residents are immigrants.
Only 33% of residents said they have no religion in Sussex
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
4.3% of residents belong to a visible minority; across Canada’s towns the figure is 15%. Across Sussex, 2% of residents have an Indigenous identity. Against that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Sussex: 13% of residents speak English and French, above 67% of Canadian towns
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
At 1.9%, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 21%, a lower share than 63% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 12% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. For comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 47% of adults
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 47% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 4,908 to 5,087 people, the 13th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Northern Bruce Peninsula is the oldest at 61.6, Westdale South the youngest at 31.1. Next to Sussex on this scale come Electoral Area C, North Okanagan (47.2), Hearst (48), Kildonan Drive (48.2) and Electoral Area F, North Okanagan (49.2).
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Sussex
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex | 4,994 | — | 48 | 27% | 4.5% |
| Sussex Corner | 1,532 | 2.0 km | 50 | 29% | 3.1% |
| Studholm | 3,668 | 4.1 km | 47.2 | 23% | 3.5% |
| Sussex | 2,742 | 7.8 km | 46.4 | 20% | 1.8% |
| Cardwell | 1,538 | 15.5 km | 51.2 | 22% | 2.5% |
| Norton | 1,551 | 17.2 km | 43.2 | 18% | 2.1% |
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. 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 New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across New Brunswick’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Sussex’s residents
What religion are people in Sussex?
33% said they have no religion and 65% that they are Christian; 2.7% named another faith.
Is Sussex good for families?
16% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 44% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Sussex are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sussex?
Half of Sussex’s households had more than $54,800 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Sussex?
About 4,994, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 4,440 people in Sussex, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Sussex?
The median age is 48, older than 80% of Canadian towns. 16% are under 15 and 27% 65 or older.
Is Sussex bilingual?
13% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 87% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.9%.
How diverse is Sussex?
Immigrants: 4.5% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 4.3%. Indigenous identity: 2%.
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).