Photo: Scott Davis · CC BY 2.5A median age of 46: Wakefield is older than 72% of Canadian towns
Of the immigrants living here, 14% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. At 17%, the share of renter households is lower than in 70% of Canadian towns. Wakefield had about 2,749 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 1,140 households at the 2021 Census. For Wakefield, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 22%.
A change of −2% since 2016 leaves Wakefield behind 87% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +3% across New Brunswick’s towns. The July 2025 estimate is close to the census count.
Wakefield sits below 62% of Canadian towns for children under 15 (15%)
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The largest age band is 60–64: 7.9% of residents. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, a higher share than in 63% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Wakefield, 46. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
In Wakefield, 24% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 61% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone. One-parent families account for 7.5%.
A higher share of married residents 15 and over than 76% of Canadian towns, at 54%
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 nearly a quarter of adults, beside a typical 27%. The share of common-law partners stands at 8.6%. To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Households in single-detached houses: 78%, a higher share than 69% of Canadian towns
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
Nearly a quarter of homes were built before 1961 and 20% in 2001 or later. On households in buildings of five or more storeys, Wakefield sits higher than three fifths of Canadian towns: 0.9%. Set beside that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Half of households earn more than $71,000 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
Half of Wakefield’s households had a total income below $71,000, 17% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among New Brunswick’s towns, the typical figure is $73,300. 19% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 68% of Canadian towns: 9.3%
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
By its share of immigrants (4.1%), Wakefield is below 85% of Canadian towns. Census figures put residents without Canadian citizenship at 1.7% in the town. As a yardstick, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Below 58% of Canadian towns: 32% of residents said they have no religion
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 1.1% of residents belong to a visible minority in Wakefield. Measured more widely, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. The share of Indigenous residents stands at 2.4%.
Above 59% of Canadian towns: 9.4% of residents speak English and French
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
Census figures put residents whose mother tongue is French at 1.1% in Wakefield. For bilingual residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 7.5%.
Below 83% of Canadian towns: 15% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 11% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
62% of residents 15 and over were in work
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 62% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The 18th oldest of 41 towns of 2,715 to 2,784 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The group spans Waskaganish, youngest at 25, to Cultus Lake, oldest at 56.8. Upper Mount Royal (45.9), Turner Valley (46), Sussex (46.4) and Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay (47.6): the towns nearest Wakefield in median age.
Nearby, 3 of 6 towns have older populations than Wakefield
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against New Brunswick’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for New Brunswick’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.
Questions about Wakefield’s residents
What is the average age in Wakefield?
The median age is 46, older than 72% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 22% 65 or older.
Is Wakefield bilingual?
9.4% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 91% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.1%.
How diverse is Wakefield?
Immigrants: 4.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 1.1%. Indigenous identity: 2.4%.
What religion are people in Wakefield?
32% said they have no religion and 67% that they are Christian; 0.4% named another faith.
Is Wakefield good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 60% of households and one-parent families 7.5%. Schools near Wakefield are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Wakefield?
Half of Wakefield’s households had more than $71,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Wakefield?
About 2,749, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,722 people in Wakefield, 2% fewer than 2016.
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).