Photo: Brendanriley · CC BY-SA 3.0In Antigonish, 19% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
46% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Statistics Canada puts Antigonish’s population at 5,175 for July 2025. Census figures put residents with no religion at 29% locally. Few places have so few immigrants: 6.8% here, fewer than in 74% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Antigonish
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 44%, more than in 93% of Canadian towns, and 25% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
A town people move to
21% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 2 times the typical share; 49% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A town of renters
57% of households rent their home, more than in 89% of Canadian towns; 45% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Antigonish grew +7% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 66% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 11% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Nova Scotia’s towns, by more than +2%.
Only 12% of residents are under 15 in Antigonish
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 20–24: 13% of residents, 2.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. For comparison, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. Across Antigonish, 25% of residents are 65 or over. With a median age of 42, Antigonish is younger than 51% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Antigonish, 42. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Antigonish: 44% of households are one person living alone, above 93% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: one in ten households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 97% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for one-person households across Canada’s towns: 27%. Average household size: 2 people. At 8.2%, the share of one-parent families is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
In Antigonish, 33% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 82% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The figure for common-law partners is 9.3% in Antigonish and 11% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
57% of households rent their home, more than in 89% 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
Compared with 64% across Canada’s towns, 44% of households live in a single-detached house here. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%. Older homes outnumber new: 20% predate 1961, 9.1% date from 2001 or later. More households in buildings of five or more storeys than in 61% of Canadian towns: 1.1%.
Half of households earn more than $54,800 a year
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 middle household in Antigonish had $54,800 before tax, 36% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Nova Scotia’s towns has $69,100 before tax. Pandemic benefits reached 32% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
More residents who moved in within the year than 95% of Canadian towns: 21%
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
Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (48%), then in the Americas (25%). By way of comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. The share of residents without Canadian citizenship is 7.8%, against 5.8% across Canada’s towns.
More Indigenous residents than 64% of Canadian towns: 4.2%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Hindu (2.1%). Indigenous residents make up 2.8% across Canada’s towns. 13% of residents belong to a visible minority; across Canada’s towns the figure is 15%.
Bilingual residents make up 10% in Antigonish, more than in 62% 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
At home, 5.4% mostly speak another language; 0.3% speak neither English nor French. The benchmark for bilingual residents across Canada’s towns: 7.5%. Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 1.7%.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 76% of Canadian towns: 43%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 7.9% here, 9.5% in the typical town. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
51% of residents 15 and over were in work
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 51% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% of residents are 65 or over.
The 20th oldest of 41 towns of 5,100 to 5,252 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
They run from Rundle Heights, at 32.9, to Inverness, at 54. Next to Antigonish on this scale come Upper Tantallon (41.4), Kneehill County (41.6), Rushdale (42.8) and Montréal-Ouest (43.2).
No nearby town is as young as Antigonish
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigonish | 5,175 | — | 42 | 25% | 6.8% |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision A | 9,682 | 3.7 km | 47.2 | 25% | 6.5% |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision B | 6,486 | 18.4 km | 48 | 23% | 2.4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- 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.
Questions about Antigonish’s residents
What is the average age in Antigonish?
The median age is 42, younger than 51% of Canadian towns. 12% are under 15 and 25% 65 or older.
Is Antigonish bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 10% are. Another 0% speak only French and 89% only English, and French is the first language of 1.7%.
How diverse is Antigonish?
Immigrants: 6.8% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 13%. Indigenous identity: 4.2%.
What religion are people in Antigonish?
29% said they have no religion and 65% that they are Christian; 6% named another faith.
Is Antigonish good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 34% of households and one-parent families 8.2%. Schools near Antigonish are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Antigonish?
Half of Antigonish’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 Antigonish?
About 5,175, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 4,656 people in Antigonish, 7% more 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).