Photo: Azure /Mark Seymour · CC BY-SA 3.0Amherst is older than 82% of Canadian towns: a median age of 48.8
13% of households are one-parent families (Canada’s towns: 8.2%). Across Amherst, 26% of residents are 65 or over. Few places have as many renter households: 43% here, more than in 78% of Canadian towns. With about 10,072 residents in July 2025, Amherst counted 4,480 households at the 2021 Census.
Slower than most: ±0% since 2016, behind 78% 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
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 7%. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Nova Scotia’s towns, by more than +2%.
14% of residents are under 15, fewer than in 70% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with 8% of residents. As a yardstick, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Amherst, 48.8. 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.
Amherst ranks above 82% of Canadian towns on one-person households: 37%
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Nova Scotia’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. For comparison, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Below 72% of Canadian towns: 38% of residents 15 and over are married
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Here 12% of residents 15 and over live common-law, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 11%. 28% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%).
49% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 70% 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
12% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. The comparison figure for households in single-detached houses is 64% across Canada’s towns.
$55,600 a year: the median household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Amherst’s, at $55,600, is 35% lower. Across Nova Scotia’s towns the median is $69,100. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 23% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
Above 61% of Canadian towns: 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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 immigrants is 3.1%, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 1.7% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a lower share than in 80% of Canadian towns. For comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Asia (45%) or in Europe (29%).
A higher share of residents with no religion than 82% of Canadian towns, at 47%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents is 5%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. Census figures put Indigenous residents at 3% in Amherst. Across the comparison, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 96%, and 6.9% speak French as well
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 98%, French 0.1%. 1.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Amherst ranks below 79% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 16%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 14%, against 9.5%. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 46% of residents 15 and over had a job
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
46% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 26% are 65 or more.
Oldest by rank: 6th of 41 towns of 9,913 to 10,218 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Between Stanley (25.6) and Blind Bay (58.8) lies the rest of the group. By median age, Amherst sits among Saint-Félicien (48.4), Temiskaming Shores (48.4), Bridgewater (51.6) and Portland Estates (51.9).
Of the 3 towns nearest Amherst, 1 are older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | 10,072 | — | 48.8 | 26% | 3.1% |
| Cumberland County, Subdivision C | 6,040 | 9.1 km | 52.8 | 28% | 2.2% |
| Sackville | 6,572 | 15.1 km | 46 | 25% | 7.4% |
| Sackville | 1,286 | 17.8 km | 46.4 | 22% | 5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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 Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Nova Scotia’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 Amherst’s residents
What is the population of Amherst?
Amherst had about 10,072 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 9,404, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Amherst?
A median age of 48.8, older than 82% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 26%.
Is Amherst bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 6.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 1.3%.
How diverse is Amherst?
3.1% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 5% belong to a visible minority and 3% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Amherst?
51% are Christian and 47% have no religion; 1.5% follow another religion.
Is Amherst good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 42% of households. One-parent families: 13%. Schools near Amherst are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Amherst?
The median household in Amherst took in $55,600 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).